Before The Rain
by KittiKat626
Summary: [IchiRuki] He was a slave. She was a noble. Rude, rash and ignorant, he reopens scars from her past. But somehow he heals them, too. She should have never met him, but fate works in weird ways. FINISHED!
1. Before The Rain

**Name:** Before The Rain  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama;Romance  
**Word Count: **2887  
**Pairings:** Ichigo/Rukia; Maybe Ishida/Orihime  
**AU?:** YES!  
**Summary:** Before the rain there is always darkness . . . He was a slave. She was a noble. Rude, rash and ignorant, he reopens scars from her past. But somehow he heals them, too. She should have never met him, but fate works in weird ways. So does love . . .

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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_Before the rain . . . there's always darkness. — Me_

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**Before The Rain**

"Where are you going?"

Rukia stopped in her tracks as the voice of her older brother cut the silence. She turned around, wincing.

"I'm going outside, Nii-sama. It's too stuffy in here," she said, sighing.

Her older brother eyed her, then turned on his heal and left the room, not speaking another word. Rukia, happy that he hadn't told her to stay inside, quickly exited the house, determined to get where she was going fast. But the quickest way to do that. . .

. . . the quickest way was through the slaves stable.

Taking a deep breath, Rukia stopped outside the stable and thought about going through. If she _didn't_ take the short way, it would take her another thirty minutes to get to her destination. If she did, she would be where she was going in a matter of minutes. Going through the stable was easy, but frightening; but then again, if she went _around_ it, her walk would be longer and harder.

_Through_, she decided.

Pushing open the door, she began running quickly. No one even looked up to see who it was; they were too used to having people patrol through the area and yell at them.

But she never did that; she hated mistreating the people in here. They were humans, too. They were humans just like her, and if she was in their place, she knew that she wouldn't like being treated badly. So, instead, she was kind to them, and spoke to whoever would stop and even look at her.

She didn't like it inside the stable, though. Most of the people working inside were too beaten or sick to do any harder work, or were new and started out easier.

Rukia was concentrating on getting out of there so badly that she didn't notice the hole on the floor that she was usually so cautious about. Her bare foot caught in the hole and she fell face forward onto the ground. Her hands stopped her face from ramming into the ground, but her ankle hurt pretty bad and her hands and elbows were scraped up.

Wincing, Rukia tried to sit up. She had successfully pulled herself into a sitting position when she heard a quiet voice speak to her.

"Let me help you up, ma'am."

She quickly looked up into the face of an orange haired teenager.

_He must be new,_ she decided. He was too young to have been anything _but _new. The youngest slaves they usually took in were twenty or older. Well, there _were_ younger ones, but they were mostly girls and worked inside the castle, cleaning and cooking.

"T-thank you," Rukia said quietly, taking the offered hand.

He pulled her to her feet, his own large hand covering hers completely. As his rough, scarred hand enveloped hers, she felt a blush rise to her face.

When she was standing on her own two feet again, she smiled at him, looking him in the eye for the first time.

"Thank you," she said again as she brushed some dust off her skirt. He just nodded, smiling the smallest bit before disappearing.

Rukia was too busy trying to get some dirt off of her skirt to notice where he had gone to, and when she looked up again, he was no where in sight.

Smiling, she starting moving again. She walked this time, not in a hurry to leave.

She hoped she would see him again sometime . . .

* * *

Rukia smiled as she walked across the soft, bright green ground. The small blades of grass tickled at her bare feet as she walked, but she didn't care. She was in her own world, away from all the pain and the darkness. Away from the screams she heard at night. Away from the crying and hurting that she saw everyday as she walks past the slave's stables. Out here, in her special place, she was alone, and she was free.

Clasping her hands tightly behind her back, she silently walked along for a while, letting the gentle November wind blow her soft, black hair all around her face. Her bright violet eyes glowed as she watched the birds fly from one tree to another and the small, cuddly bunnies lead their babies quickly away as her quiet footsteps approach, threatening the tiny creatures. She came upon a small stream and leaned down beside it, letting the silent waves flow over her pale skin.

After a few minutes, she dropped onto her back, her eyes straying into the bright blue sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and the birds were flying happily overhead. Whether it's to a new home that won't freeze as the cold creeps up on them, or just back to their homes in her world.

Rukia sighed as she heard footsteps approach. Flopping over onto her stomach, she rolled her eyes as she looked up into the face of her childhood friend, Renji. He just smirked as he towered over her.

"So, this is where you go to everyday," he said, letting his eyes flow across the beautiful landscape.

"Mm hm," Rukia replied quietly, pulling herself into a sitting position and reaching across the grass to pull up a small, pink flower. She tore off one of the petals as she sighed happily. "Guess what?"

"Hm?" Renji asked, not really paying attention.

"I met a new stable boy today. He helped me up when I tripped," she said.

Renji sighed.

"Rukia, come on. You really can't keep making friends with the slaves. Someday, they'll be gone, for whatever reason, and getting attached isn't going to help," he said, rolling his eyes. Rukia just continued to smile.

"Don't call them slaves. They're no different than you or I," Rukia snapped. "And I'm not attached. I just said he was nice. I want to know his name . . ." she trailed off, a far-away look in her eyes.

Renji sighed again. Then, to get of the subject of the slaves, said,

"Your brother sent me looking for you. Apparently, he wants you home before dark tonight." Renji dropping down beside her, his red hair blowing slightly in the wind. She didn't look over at him as she wiped the dew that had accumulated on her hands off on the knee-length skirt which pooled out around her small legs. Renji continued, "You will be home on time . . . right?"

"Maybe," Rukia said, smiling as she stood to her feet and knocked the access dust off her skirt and thin white sweater. "And maybe not."

Renji sighed as she ran off. He knew that she wanted to be left alone. In her short fifteen years, she always did like being alone. He didn't know why, but she would tell him someday, like she always did. Shaking his head and hoping that Rukia's crazy brother wouldn't kill him for coming back with a half answer, he began walking away.

As hewalked on the path through the thick trees that lead back to the castle, he sighed again, looking back to see Rukia walking alone in the knee-length grass.

The pretty, golden sunset was casting a beautiful glow across the sky, but all he noticed was her. She was standing in the middle of a huge field, her light brown skirt blowing in the wind and her hands grasped together behind her small frame. Her raven hair was blowing in the light wind, and the few stray leaves that had still to fall off of their trees were blowing back and forth on their bare branches, some falling desolate to the ground around her.

Smiling to himself, he walked off, his tall, lanky body disappearing in the forest that surrounded the castle.

She would come home. No matter how late, she would be there.

And she would never change.

* * *

Rukia looked up into the sky again. She loved watching the sunset. She loved the beautiful colors that it dished out, and she loved the blessed darkness that followed; like a dark blanket being thrown across the sky, telling everyone that it was time to go to bed.

But she loved staying awake at night. The stars were beautiful, and they gave her something to think about, something to get her mind off of the screams of pain coming from below her window as she listened to the slaves being mistreated.

The stars were like diamonds hanging in the heavens. Before her mom had died, she had told a four-year-old Rukia that stars were the souls of your loved ones, and that, when she died, Rukia could pick out a star and then look at it every night so she would forever remember her mother. And she had. She had picked out the most beautiful star in the sky, because her mother was the most beautiful, kind woman in the whole world. And every night, she would sit at her bedroom window and stare out at the star she had given to her mother.

_"Mommy, are you really a star?"_

That had been what she had asked her mother so many years ago. How could a four-year-old wrap her mind around the thought that when mommy died, she would be a star? But when her mother had passed away only months later, she had shut herself up in her room every night and had stared out into the night sky, wondering if the mommy that she had loved so much was as close as the stars.

But she was closer. Her mother was still in her heart.

"I know you're there mom, so will you guide me? Will you help me through this maze called life? Will you help me _live_?" Rukia asked quietly, smiling as the golden rays of the sunset dissolved into the ever darkening sky. The stars were beginning to come out, and she wouldn't leave her place until the one she had given her mom was there.

Sitting down onto the grass, Rukia pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees.

At four years, she had been dressed up in fluffy dresses and had been taught to act like a princess should. Her brother had always laughed at her, for he got away with a lot of things, as he was not a _lady_.

But she had always ignored him, because she was with her mommy, and that had been what she loved most. When her mother was gone, it had been just her, her brother and father. But then he passed away, too. When she was ten, he had died, leaving a eighteen-year-old brother to take care of his little sister. And he had done a good job.

"I promise I will try and be the lady you always wanted me to, mom. But there is no way I'll wear those god-forsaken dresses you used to stuff me inside of," Rukia said, laughing quietly as she stared up at her mothers star. "I love you, mom."

Rukia smiled and waved before standing to her feet and skipping across the grass.

She wanted to get home quickly, because the slaves were going to be out soon, and she hated passing them. They looked so weak and sad. She wanted them to be free, as she was when she went to her special place, but she knew that they couldn't be free. She loved talking to them during the day when they did their light work, but at night . . . at night, they were worked so hard several had died over the years. And she hated seeing them in so much pain.

Running as fast as her bare feet and small legs could carry her, she quickly approached on the house.

She was about to walk inside when she heard yelling. There were several voices; at least three. And she recognized one of them as Renji's, and another as her brothers, but the third voice . . . she couldn't tell. It was strong, determined, and loud. But it also sounded familiar.

Walking over to where they were coming from, inside the horse stables, she saw Renji on the ground, nursing a bloody lip and a black eye. She gasped at the sight of him, but let her eyes wander to her brother, who seemed unhurt, and then to the third occupant of the room.

He was young, maybe sixteen or seventeen, and sported a head of bright orange, spiky hair. His brown eyes held anger, and he was straining against the hold of the guards.

Rukia gasped.

He was the boy that had helped her earlier!

He himself was nursing a bloody nose, a black eye and asorted cuts and bruises. Rukia winced at the sight of the young man; he was worse off than Renji, and he would, no doubt, be beaten that night for his actions against the other two men.

Tears sprang to Rukia eyes as she watched another guard walk up and punch the boy. He couldn't react because he was being held by both arms. She felt herself moving, and before she even realized what she was doing, she had stepped in the way of the boy and of the guard. The guard, who was about to punch again, lowered his arm and attempted to move Rukia out of the way.

She didn't move.

Her mom had taught her not to hurt people, and she didn't want this boy hurt, either. He was a younger slave; probably the youngest in a while. He couldn't have been much older than herself.

"You don't have to protect me," the boy mumbled, not moving his eyes to meet her gaze as she turned around to look at him.

"I-"

But her reply was cut off as her brother walked over and took her arm, trying to lead her away. As she looked back, she realized that Renji had already been taken off, probably to the castle nurse.

"Rukia. Go back to the castle," he said firmly.

But Rukia didn't make a move to go. She was still standing in front of the guard that had been trying to hurt the boy.

"Don't hurt him!"

Her brother's eyes narrowed.

"Rukia," he began. "You can't make friends with every single slave that-"

He was cut off when Rukia yelled,

"Don't call them slaves! They're just like you and I!" It was the first time she had _ever_ yelled at her brother. She winced, sure he was going to yell back at her or something.

But he did nothing. Instead, he just walked calmly out, talking back to the guards,

"Watch her. But don't hurt the boy."

They nodded and dropped the boy to the ground. Surprised, he fell straight onto his bottom and didn't even bother with trying to get up again. He mumbled a small 'thanks' under his breath as she leaned down beside him, reaching her hand out and gently fingering his bleeding and bruised face.

He gasped as her small, cold hands ran over the rough, scarred skin of his face. She just smiled at him, then placed her hand over his cut cheek. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The boy was surprised, and when she opened her eyes, she was still smiling.

"Wha . . ."

Reaching his hand up, he fingered his face, only to find it completely healed.

"You . . . you're a . . .

Rukia smiled as he trailed off, still fingering his now-healed face.

"I'm a Healer, yes. Here, let me see your eye and nose . . . "

The boy held completely still as she placed her hand over his bloody nose and closed her eyes again. A pleasant feeling took over him as he felt the pain go away. When she finished, she quickly healed his eye and the cuts and bruises scattered on his face.

"T-thanks . . ." he said, running his hand over his face. Rukia just smiled and stood to her feet.

"I have to go now. Will I see you sometime?"

The boy just nodded as he stood to his feet, too. He was too slow, however, and was roughly yanked up by the guards. Rukia smiled again and began walking off. He called out to her,

"Wait!"

Rukia stopped running and turned around, the smile still on her face.

"What's your name?"

"Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki. And you?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

She nodded and waved again before running off into the darkness.

Ichigo smiled as he was hauled back into his stable.

Well, at least if he had to live like this with freaky tattooed, red-headed men, there would be someone he could talk to. He sure hoped he could see her again.

* * *

Well, what do you think? Again, it came to me, and I had to write it down. Was it terrible? Good? Bad? Great? Hmm?

**Please Review!**


	2. A Slave and a Noble

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

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_Before the rain . . . there's always darkness. — Me_

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**Before The Rain — II**

Over the next few days, Rukia walked through the slave stable as much as she could, hoping to catch a glance of Ichigo again, but for four days in a row, she didn't even see him once.

It shouldn't have been surprising, as most of the slaves usually were worked in several areas, but she had _really_ hoped to catch a glance of him again.

On the fifth day, she walked back home after dark and went inside, not having seen a glance of the carrot-top boy.

On the sixth morning Rukia awoke to the sunrise. Smiling to herself as she watched the bright reds and pinks of the sun breach the horizon, she quickly changed from her bedclothes into a baby blue, tight sweater and a light, dusty brown skirt. After running a brush through her hair and sticking a flower behind her ear as she often did, she walked from her room, humming quietly as she walked down the large cases of stairs.

Deciding to skip breakfast once again, she quickly exited the house and began walking around in the soft grass. Thankfully it hadn't rained in a couple days, so the only water on the ground was the soft, misty dew from the night before.

She wondered if she would see that boy . . . no, _Ichigo,_ on her way out for her morning ride. She didn't have to walk through the slaves stable, so she doubted it.

Soon, she found herself saddling up her horse and climbing onto the beautiful, brown chestnut's back. Whispering quietly to the horse, she breathed in the fresh air and smiled as the wind blew her hair around her face.

"You really like being outside, huh?"

Rukia was startled as the voice she knew belonged to Renji spoke. Turning her horse around to face the red-head, she nodded.

"Yeah. I love it."

Both were quiet for the next few minutes as Rukia led the horse, Morning Glory, around the stable. Renji was leaning up against the fence, his chin resting on his hands as he watched Rukia trot around. Finally, she said,

"Renji, what were you and Ichigo fighting about yesterday?"

Renji looked surprised.'

"That slave?"

"Stop calling them that!" Rukia said, looking down at the ground.

"Look, Rukia. They are different from us. We're - "

"We're what, Renji?" Rukia said, stopping the horse to stare at him. He just sighed, throwing up his hands. He made a few motions with his mouth, as if to say something, but finally just sighed again and slumped down on the fence.

"They're just different," he said.

Rukia smiled sadly.

"And that's where we will forever disagree. And you didn't answer my question."

Renji felt as if all he ever did around Rukia was sigh as he felt the strong exhale of breath leave his body.

"He insulted my hair."

"And you fought him over that? God, Renji! You have such an ego!" Rukia said, chuckling.

Hearing her say such only hurt said ego more. Renji pouted as he watched Rukia begin trotting again. He sighed and rubbed the cut on his face that hadn't been healed from the day before. Rukia had been busy healing the stupid stable boy, and there had been no other healers around, so they had simply patched it up and told him to suck it up. He said,

"And since when were you on name basis with a slave?"

"Stop calling him a slave!"

"Whatever!"

"Yesterday, in answer to your question. He's the boy I told you helped me up. He asked my name as I was exiting the stable. And he told me his," she said simply, a smile still plastered to her face.

After that, everything went quiet.

They both bathed in the total silence until a loud, banging, crashing sound came from inside the private horse stable. Rukia was surprised, and quickly halted her horse before jumping off and running inside of the stable, no doubt worried about the horses that were currently residing in said stable.

What they found completely surprised both Rukia and Renji.

There, in the middle of a large pile of metal feeding buckets, sat Ichigo, dazed, with a bucket half over his head. Rukia giggled as she bent down beside him and lifted it off of his head, setting it on the ground beside him.

He was just as surprised to see her as they were to see him.

"Sorry, ma'am!" he said, flustered. Renji rolled his eyes as Rukia offered her hand. He took it and she helped him stand to his feet. Ichigo gave a sloppy bow and then turned to look at Renji. He growled. Renji growled back, and Rukia was sure she was going to have to buy muzzles for the both of them.

"Look, if you fight, I'll kick you both out," she said, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at the two boys.

"Sorry, ma'am," Ichigo said, slinking away from Renji. Renji raised an eyebrow. He sure wasn't that polite last night when he shoved his fist into his (Renji's) face.

"Call me Rukia, please," she said, turning to face the flustered, orange-haired teen. He nodded.

"Sorry, ma'am - I mean, Rukia."

"That's better. Now, what are you doing here?"

Renji didn't like being ignored, so he said,

"Yeah. What exactly are you doing at the private stables?"

"Uh . . . well, Kuchiki-Sama told me to come here because I would be working with the horses. I guess. See, well . . . He said I wasn't cut out for the other work, which I really think he was wrong about, because I was working twice as hard as the other men, but still . . . he said I was to work as stable boy here, soo . . ." Ichigo stopped speaking, reaching a hand out to scratch his head in thought. "Sorry, Rukia, I was rambling."

"That's OK. Well, if you're working here now, would you help me put my horse away?"

Ichigo nodded, then turned to Renji.

"Renji, Kuchiki-Sama wants to meet with you."

Renji nodded, and after saying goodbye to Rukia, walked off, sure to send several glares back in Ichigo's direction.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Ichigo asked, motioning to the retreating back of Renji. Rukia laughed as she took the reigns of her horse, and, with the help of Ichigo, led Morning Glory back into the stall.

"No. He's to thickheaded, and I don't think I could ever love someone who treats the slaves as he does," Rukia said, sighing sadly and then turning back to Ichigo. "Why weren't you around for the past few days?"

Ichigo just shrugged. He didn't answer her question but instead picked up a brush and began running it through the horses hair. Rukia smiled and climbed up onto the railing of the stall that Morning Glory and Ichigo were inside of. Her thin hands clasped the railing tightly as she swung her feet back and forth.

Ichigo glanced back at her and raised an eyebrow before turning his attention back to the horse in front of him.

He soon let his eyes wander, and after a quick glance around, he realized that there were seven or eight horses in the barn in all. He raised his eyebrow.

"Do I take care of all of these?" he asked, looking around still. Rukia nodded.

"And if you like, you can sleep up in the loft. I know it's not much, but it's better than anything else I could offer you," she said, smiling as she pointed upward. "There's no bed, but it's warm and has blankets and a lot of hay. When I'm watching over a sick horse or something, I sometimes sleep out here, too. Despite Nii-Sama's asking me not to."

Ichigo nodded and let her go on talking; she probably didn't have anyone else to talk to.

"There are nine horses in total. One is being watched by a neighbour because we currently don't have room. Mine is Morning Glory, and Nii-Sama's is Senbonzakura. She's over there in the corner, the black one. Renji's is Zabimaru; he's one of the horses that is gone. The other six are Cloud, Snow, River, Rain, Blackie and lightning," she explained, pointing to each and every horse as she said its name.

"Ah, you should be careful . . ." Ichigo said, wincing as she began swinging her legs back and forth again, this time not holding tightly to the railing.

Just as Ichigo uttered the words, Rukia gave a gasp of surprise as she suddenly fell backward. Ichigo dropped the brush he was holding and ran over into the other, empty, stall that Rukia had fallen inside of.

He smiled when he found her, laying in the piles of hay with an expression of surprise on her face. The yellow straw was caught up in her hair and covering the soft fabric of her sweater. He stuck out his hand and she took it, smiling slightly as she clambered to her feet.

"Thanks, Ichigo."

"Ah. This is the second time now that I've helped you up," he joked, smiling. Rukia responded,

"Well, I've helped you up once."

"Yeah."

Ichigo nodded as he helped pick straw from her raven hair. He took a piece out from behind her ear, causing the flower she had placed there that morning to fall.

Bending down, he picked it up and twirled it around in his fingers before placing it back in her hair. She smiled and looked away, hiding the pink tint that covered her face.

"Rukia!"

Both teens sprung apart as their red-headed friend busted into the room. Rukia turned around to look at him, her hands clasped in front of her. Ichigo let his hand fall from her hair and reached down to pick up the brush again, going back to working on the horse.

"What were you doing?" Renji asked, forgetting what he was there for.

"Nothing," Rukia mumbles.

"Didn't look like nothing to me," Renji growled. Ichigo clenched his hand tightly around the brush, willing himself not to throw it at the red-head. Rukia had gotten him out of a beating once for, but he was pretty sure she couldn't do it twice. And he didn't want to get himself _or_ her into trouble.

"It was nothing. What do you want?" Rukia asked, jumping up to perch on the railing again, this time sure to grasp the railing tightly.

"Kuchiki-Sama wants you home," Renji said, leaning against the door. Then he said, "Stable boy. My horse is gonna be back tonight. Make sure you clean him up good, OK?"

Ichigo nodded.

"What? I can't hear you," Renji said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Ichigo mumbled something under his breath. Rukia said,

"Renji, leave him alone."

But as she followed him outside of the stable, she glanced back at Ichigo, and smiled before completely disappearing out of sight. Ichigo acted totally different around her. Around her . . . he talked. But around everyone else, he either yelled, when he was mad, or barely said anything at all.

And when he was around her, he smiled.

Renji growled something under his breath as they walked along.

"Huh?" Rukia said, quite sure he was speaking to her.

At first, Renji looked like he wasn't going to talk, but then, he said, "Rukia, why are you around that boy so much? And why was he touching you?"

"I fell. He helped me up," Rukia said simply. "And I like talking to him. He listens to me."

Renji rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Whatever. But I don't think you should be around that slave so much. Don't get attached, because when he's gone, I don't want you hurt."

"Do _not_ call him a slave! And I'll be around whomever I want to be around," Rukia said, turning her gaze away from her friend. "And I won't get hurt."

But she knew that it was a possibility that she _would_ get hurt. She liked spending time with Ichigo. She had only talked with him twice, but she liked him. He listened, _really_ listened, and not just nodded his head every once in a while. She liked spending time around him, and if she had her way, she would spend a lot more time around him.

* * *

"That's the star I gave my mom. I talk to it sometimes. No laughing, either," Rukia said, smiling as Ichigo gave her a of-course-I-won't-laugh-though-it-is-silly look. "I feel closer to her that way. My brother gets mad, but I stay out every single night until past dark."

Ichigo just smiled and nodded, as he usually did.

Rukia looked at him for a second before turning her head again to stare up at the stars.

She was currently laying on a thick pile of straw that Renji's horse, Zabimaru, was eating from. Ichigo was combing the horse thoroughly as he listened to Rukia talk.

Rukia, still wearing the same clothes as earlier that day, had decided not to go to her usual spot, as Renji would most likely come along. She decided, instead, to visit Ichigo. And she was glad she had, because she liked talking. She wasn't a girl to keep a diary, and she really didn't have anyone else to talk to. There were her personal maids, but they never listened. She _could not_ talk to her brother, and lately, she and Renji, who used to be so close they would tell each other their underwear color, had been drifting apart.

"You know, I never told anyone else about my mom's star. I once thought about telling Renji, because back then, we told each other everything, but it was for me and me alone. But lately I have been really wanting to tell someone, because when I tell people about the things I do, I feel more comfortable, like I'm not keeping things from the world. I feel . . . relieved. Thanks for listening.

"Ah."

He hadn't said much that night, just listened. But Rukia felt comfortable talking to him, because he didn't laugh at her, and he didn't yell at her. He actually listened.

"Hey, Rukia. Want to go for a ride?"

Rukia looked up as Ichigo spoke a whole sentence. She smiled widely and nodded, dropping the single, lone flower that she had gripped in her hand. Ichigo helped her to her feet and, after putting Zabimaru back in his stall, they took out Morning Glory. Ichigo helped Rukia up, then looked around the stable. All the other horses were either sleeping or eating. Rukia noticed, too.

"Come on, you can sit behind me, OK?"

Ichigo nodded and climbed up behind her, sitting inside the saddle with her. It really wasn't hard, as she was very small. She was holding the reigns, and quickly led Morning Glory out of her stall and into the crisp, night air. Ichigo closed his eyes as Rukia sped up the horse to a trot as they entered the large, open field. He could feel the air rushing past him, blowing his hair around and chilling his face.

He felt free . . .

"Hold on!" Rukia said happily. Ichigo panicked.

"Hold onto _what_?" he asked. He didn't have time to receive an answer as Morning Glory sped up. She was now running free across the whole field, going where Rukia told her to go and listening to everything Rukia told her to do.

Ichigo wrapped his arms gently around Rukia's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. She was surprised when she felt his weight moving closer to her, but smiled when he wrapped his arms around her.

Taking a deep breath, she told herself that he was just doing it because of their speed.

But as they continued to run, and eventually slow, Ichigo didn't relax his grip on her. She looked back and smiled when she saw him smiling himself, his eyes closed as the air rushed through his hair. He opened his eyes and noticed her looking at him. He whispered,

"What?"

Rukia shook her head, still smiling.

"Nothing. You just look . . . so relaxed."

"Ah. I haven't been this relaxed since . . . " He trailed off. "Sorry. I don't want to talk about it."

"That's OK. If you ever do want to talk, though, I'll listen."

Ichigo smiled and settled his head back on her shoulder, closing his eyes again.

Rukia leaned back onto him, letting her grip on the reigns loosen.

"Hey Rukia, what would I be doing if I wasn't stable boy?"

Rukia sighed.

"Well, you would either be working in the fields or somewhere in the castle, but probably in the fields. I'm glad you're stable boy, though. Because they mistreat the field workers so badly," Rukia said, sadly looking up into Ichigo's eyes. "So I'm glad you're here with me instead of out there."

Ichigo just smiled.

When they got back, a surprise was waiting for them.

Ichigo quickly jumped off the horse, helping Rukia down before bowing quickly before Kuchiki-Sama.

"Rukia, you were supposed to be home hours ago," he said. Then, he turned to Ichigo. "What were you doing out so late with my sister?"

Ichigo's mouth fell open, but he tried not to show his surprise at Rukia being Kuchiki-Sama's sister. She _had_ called him Nii-Sama several times, but he just never really thought about it. That would make her . . . the princess!

"I am sorry, Byakuya. We were just riding."

Ichigo realized his mistake a second too late. He had called Byakuya by his given name; a mistake. He had taken several beatings from the guards when he had called the Prince, soon to be king, by his given name. He had had it beaten into him that he called Kuchiki-Sama such. If he didn't, he would be beaten within an inch of his subconscious again. And he didn't want that to happen.

Kuchiki Byakuya eyed Ichigo then turned to his sister, taking her arm and leading her away.

No one spoke a word about Ichigo's slip-up.

As he watched them leave, Ichigo called,

"Bye, Rukia!"

She smiled and turned around, waving at him happily before skipping off with her brother.

A smile slowly worked its way across Ichigo's face as he watched her walk off, her dusty, brown skirt flying in the wind.

* * *

I hope you liked it! Sorry again if they seem OOC, but they are AU characters, with not all that crap happening in their pasts . . . soo . . . Also, if you are a flamer, flame away! _(Hands over matches and lighters)_ I will continue this, anyway!

**Please Review! **


	3. Crystal Snowflakes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

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_Before the rain . . . there is always darkness. — Me_

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Before The Rain — III

Rukia smiled as she looked out her window the next morning. A thick blanket of beautiful, glimmering, white snow covered the ground. Her eyes glowed happily as she jumped from her thick green quilt and quickly threw off her nightclothes, pulling on an outfit much like the one she had worn the previous day, except her red sweater was thicker and she wore warm, black leggings under her jean skirt.

After pulling on her warm winter boots, she clambered down the stairs and grabbed a piece of toast before running out of the house.

She wanted to go to the stable. For two reasons, mainly. To ride Morning Glory through the fresh snow, and to see Ichigo.

She got to do the latter first, as he greeted her with a snowball to the back.

Shrieking, she turned around, frantically wiping the snow from her neck. He was leaning against the door to the barn, grinning, his arms crossed over his chest. He still wore that half-scowl, but she didn't care as she glared at him playfully.

"Yo!" he said happily, pulling himself from the doorway and walking out to her.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked, sneezing.

Ichigo handed her a tissue and she accepted it gratefully.

"Seeing someone besides the stinky horses this morning," Ichigo replied.

Rukia laughed quietly as she bent down in the snow, picking up a handful of the soft, white powder and forming it into a ball. Ichigo understood what she was going to do right away and tried to hide behind the barn door. But the show hit him straight in the face; Rukia was fast.

"This means war!" Ichigo cried, bending down and picking up snow in his bare hand. Rukia squealed as the snowball hit her in the back, and soon it was a full-out war.

Soon, they were both completely showered in snow and were laying right outside the barn. Rukia was panting for breath, and Ichigo was just staring at her, his eyebrows raised.

"You cold?" he asked, sitting up and pulling one of his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arm around it loosely.

"A little," Rukia replied, sitting up beside him and smiling as she stuck her bright pink hands into her skirt pockets.

Ichigo shrugged off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. She gasped in surprise, but then snuggled into the warmth of his wool coat. He smiled and leaned back against the barn wall, wrapping his arms around himself as he watched Rukia pick up a blade of grass that was sticking up through the snow. She turned to him and smiled, a happy glint in her eye as she pressed it between her thumbs and then blew on it.

Ichigo was surprised to hear the loud sound that emitted from the grass as she blew on it.

"Woah! What was that?" he asked.

Rukia's smile only grew as she blew on it again, then said, "Well, I guess it's like a harmonica. I can't make different sounds with it, but my mom taught me to do this when I was just three. It took me forever to get it right, though," Rukia said, handing the grass blade to Ichigo. He took it from her hand and pressed it between his own two thumbs, blowing on it.

Nothing happened.

Rukia grinned and showed him how to do it right, but he still couldn't get it to make any sound.

"The hell are you doin' with that slave?"

Both Rukia and Ichigo turned around fast to see Renji leaning up against the snow-covered railing to the stable. Ichigo quickly stood to his feet, Rukia following him.

"Stop calling him a slave!" Rukia said, glaring at Renji.

He sighed, rolling his eyes at her.

"Whatever. What are you two doing? Back to work, Stable boy," Renji said, smirking.

Ichigo nodded, glaring at Renji, but walked back inside quickly.

"Rukia, come with me," Renji pushed, motioning for her to follow him. She nodded hesitantly and began climbing over the fence when she remembered that she was still wearing Ichigo's coat.

"Be right back!" she said, running back into the barn.

Rukia found Ichigo already cleaning out one of the horse stalls. She walked inside and took his coat off, handing it to him. He shook his head, still smiling.

"Nah. I don't need it. You're cold, you use it. Just come by tomorrow to give it back, OK?"

Rukia smiled and nodded, putting the coat back on over her red sweater again and hugging it tightly to her as she breathed in the scent. He had a unique scent, like nothing she had smelled before. She let her violet eyes wander upward and meet with his own intense brown ones.

"Sorry about Renji. He's not usually like this . . ." she said, looking down at the ground. Ichigo shrugged.

"He seems like a jerk," Ichigo said. Rukia elbowed him, letting her eyes linger on him for a minute before leaning up on her tip-toes and kissing him quickly on the cheek before bouncing away.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your coat!" she said happily as she ran out of the stable, her cheeks bright red from what she had just done.

As he watched her run out, Ichigo pressed his bare hand to his cheek where she had just kissed him, smiling like an idiot.

* * *

"Does that belong to the slave?" Renji asked, pointing to the coat. Rukia glared at him.

"I said, stop calling him that! He has a name," she pointed out, still glaring at him as she knocked the snow off of her shoes then sat down on the ground to pull off said shoes. They were soaking wet and covered in mud and snow. After peeling off her socks and dumping them in a nearby laundry basket, she began climbing the stairs to her room, Renji on her heels.

"So, does it belong to him?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"Why are you wearing a slave coat?"

"Because I was cold and he noticed. He let me borrow it until tomorrow," she said, smiling a little as she bounced up the stairs. Renji followed her at a slower pace.

"Rukia, I really don't think it's a good idea for you to be spending so much time around that stable boy-"

"Ichigo."

"Huh?"

"His name's Ichigo, Renji," Rukia said, slightly annoyed.

"_Whatever_," Renji said, not really hearing her. He waved it off with his hand and Rukia fumed. "Will you please stop hanging out with that slave?"

Rukia stopped in her tracks. She turned around and glared at Renji. If looks could kill, Renji would probably be six feet under right now. Rukia said, "Renji, I _swear_, if you don't stop calling Ichigo 'slave' I will personally make sure you will _never_ have kids, understand?"

Renji, who was fearing for his manhood, nodded and Rukia walked the rest of the way up to her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Moody little . . ."

Renji continued mumbling under his breath as he walked down the stairs.

* * *

Rukia pulled off the coat and gently laid it on her bed before sitting down beside it and pulling out her drawing pad.

She was stuck in the house until the current storm stopped, which could be a while. As soon as she and Renji had started walking back to the castle, the snow had began pouring down. Rukia was glad for the extra coat, and had hugged it tightly to herself as they walked back. Once they had entered the castle, Byakuya had said that Renji would have to stay int he castle until the storm stopped.

Kicking her feet back and forth, she laid down on her stomach on her bed. Her legs were kicking back and forth in the air as she chewed on the edge of her pencil, wondering what to draw.

Smiling, she turned the pencil around and began scribbling on the paper.

* * *

"Rukia, Kuchiki-sama wants to speak to you," Renji said, pushing open Rukia's door.

Rukia nodded and climbed out of her bed, hiding her drawing pad under her pillow and skipping happily out of the door. Renji was still standing in her doorway as she walked down the stairs, heading for the living room where her brother always talked with her. Curious as to what she had been drawing, Renji found himself walking inside her bedroom and over to her bed.

He reached down and touched the pillow, as if not sure he was supposed to look. Which, he probably wasn't, seeing as she had covered it.

But curiosity got the better of him and as he lifted the pillow off of the drawing pad, he gasped.

The drawing wasn't just good, it was beautiful. Renji's mouth fell open as he stared at the drawing that couldn't possibly be hers. It wasn't those stupid bunny scribblings she usually did; it was a beautiful background of a sun setting and the river with the wind blowing grass everywhere. He recognized it as her special place.

And then he notices the two figures in the corner. One is her, in a beautiful white dress and the second is a figure he doesn't recognize at first, but then the bright orange hair gives it away. In the picture, they aren't touching each other, but instead, they are simply facing each other, and she is smiling.

Renji didn't know she could draw like that; and her coloring was perfect. It was a beautiful picture. But it was incomplete. The left side of the picture was not finished and the figures of Rukia and Ichigo were not completely colored, as wasn't the grass.

Putting it back under the pillow, Renji quickly walked from the room.

_How did she draw like that_?

* * *

Rukia entered the living room and sat down across from her brother. He just stared at her for a second before speaking.

"Rukia . . . you do realize that your sixteenth birthday is in six weeks, correct?"

Rukia nodded, not speaking.

"And, in following Kuchiki tradition, you will be married on the eve of your birthday."

Rukia gasped, her mouth hanging open as she stared at her brother. He continued,

"If you do not choose a _proper_ husband within the next four weeks, one will be chosen for you among the royal princes and honorable men. Do you have anyone in mind?"

Rukia, still shocked, shook her head.

"Very well. Think on it. If you have not chosen by the end of December, it will be chosen for you so you may be married on January thirteenth."

* * *

The next morning the snow had stopped falling, and Byakuya was accompanying his sister out for a morning ride.

When they arrived at the stable, they saw Ichigo up on the roof, without a shirt, tearing off old boards and putting on new ones that didn't leak.

The stable was a large area fenced in for training and breaking the horses. The wooden railings were steady and fun to climb on, and surrounded the barn in two large circles. The closest one was nearly fifty feet from the barn, the wooden railings going in a twenty foot wide circle. The second joined its railing with the first, and its outside railing was nearly fifteen feet out. Inside the two circles was a large practice area.

Besides the barn, inside the stable, there was a large supply shed where tools were kept, because everything horse related was inside the warm, hay filled barn.

Byakuya spoke up to Ichigo.

"Kurosaki."

Ichigo nearly fell off the roof with surprise. But once he had gained his composure he quickly pulled his shirt back on, and wiping sweat from his face, he jumped to the ground and bowed before them quickly before speaking.

"Kuchiki-sama, Rukia, good morning. I suppose you are here to ride?"

Rukia nodded happily, gripping the stable railing in her hand as Byakuya nodded, too. Ichigo walked inside the barn, coming out a second later with Morning Glory. He quickly helped Rukia up and then turned back to Byakuya.

"Kuchiki-sama, which horse would you like to ride?"

"Senbonzakura," Byakuya replied simply. Ichigo nodded and walked back inside, then came back out with Byakuya's horse.

As they rode out of the stable, Rukia called back,

"Thanks, Ichigo!"

He just smiled and nodded, going back to his work.

* * *

_"No! Leave my mommy alone! Please!"_

_Nine-year-old Ichigo yelled and cried as the two older men held him still. He kicked and screamed, trying to reach his mother, who was being held by one older man. She wasn't fighting against the man, though; she was standing completely still as she watched Ichigo fight to try and help her._

_"Ichigo, please, take care of Yuzu and Karin," she said quietly, smiling sadly as the man hauled her away from her son._

_"No!" Ichigo screamed, not caring when the tears began to roll down his face. Breaking free, he fell forward onto the ground but quickly pulled himself up and began to run across the soft, dirt ground. Tears coursing down his face, he ran after his mother._

_Then, the gunshot was heard. _

_Ichigo screamed and fell to the ground, watching as his mother fell also, her beautiful white dress now soaked through with her red blood. _

Ichigo awoke in a cold sweat. Turning over in the hay loft that he slept inside of, he buried his face in the hay, but was unable to erase the dream. He hated waking up to this every morning. He hated seeing over and over again how he had caused his mother to die. He hated watching her death over and over again.

But every single night, he would fall to sleep knowing that he would awake soon to reality that was plagued in darkness and bad memories. Sitting up in his bed, he put his head in his hands and allowed himself to remember the rest of the story.

_He hadn't cared who was watching him. He'd cried and screamed out into the night air. His voice pierced the darkness as the men caught up with him again and grabbed him, hauling him off and throwing him into the waiting stall. _

_Curling up into a corner, he cried all night for his mom. But when morning came, he dried his tears and stood tall and strong, ready to face whatever these men did to him._

_But when the man came into his stall and looked him over, Ichigo became scared. The man, who said he was called Aizen Sosuke, turned around to the guards and said,_

_"I'll take him for five gold pieces."_

_After the deal was made, Ichigo was taken roughly by the arm and hauled out of the stall._

_After that, he was worked harder than he ever remembered. He was called a slave and forced to sleep outside with the animals. During the day, he worked in the field with the older men. It was hard, dirty work, but he did everything he was told, for if he misbehaved, his father and sisters would be punished, just like his mom. They didn't work with him, no, they worked elsewhere, the girls inside a castle and his father doing harder work, but they would be punished. And he knew it._

_The only way that the men who owned him got him to work and behave was to threaten his family. And he had made one slip-up . . . just one . . . and his mom had been killed. Ripped from his life and from the life of his family._

_He couldn't . . . no, _wouldn't_ let that happen to his sisters and father. He would have to take the work, the beatings and the insults thrown at him. He would have to endure them for his family's sake. And he would live._

_When he turned sixteen, he was taken from Aizen Sosuke's grasp and was sold to another man, Byakuya Kuchiki. The man that had picked him up was nice; he was always smiling and wore a funky hat and sandals. He told Ichigo everything he should and shouldn't do. He should call his master Kuchiki-sama, he shouldn't get into fights, he should act proper whenever Byakuya Kuchiki was around, and he shouldn't complain about any work given to him._

_But then he met her._

_Then . . . he met Rukia. _

Ichigo dried his tears and stood to his feet, climbing out of his loft and dropping to the hard, wooden floor beneath him. He smiled as he got ready for the day. It was way to early, but he wanted to be there and already done with part of the days work when Rukia arrived, because she had promised that he could come riding with her.

That was what he looked forward to every day; seeing Rukia. She would come by every morning and ride. After she was done riding, she would always stay a while and talk to him. Sometimes she stayed all day.

In the two weeks since he had been working in the stable, he had talked more than he had in the last five years. He had tried just listening at first, but soon Rukia's happy persnality began to affect him and he was talking with her daily. But he hadn't told her anything about his mother yet.

"You can tell me when you're ready," she had said.

And he had just smiled and leaned against the cold snow again.

* * *

Rukia hummed to herself as she walked along.

It had been a week and a half since her brother had told her about her having to get married, and she hadn't thought it much. Who would she marry? She would rather have a choice than to be forced into a marriage where she didn't love the man, but there was no one she wanted to marry. Her knight in shining armour hadn't come yet.

Maybe he would drop into her life right in time.

"Oy, Rukia!"

Rukia smiled as she looked up to see Ichigo sitting up on top of the roof of the barn. He was grinning, though his permanent scowl was still in place. It made him look somewhat . . . cute.

"You said we'd go ridin' today!"

Ichigo began climbing down the roof, but as he was about to jump off the edge like he usually did, he slipped on the slick roof and flew off the edge and into a pile of freshly fallen snow.

Rukia laughed as she helped him up.

"Now it's even; I've helped you up twice, and you've helped me twice," she said.

"I guess so, huh? Now, let's go riding!"

Rukia giggled as she followed Ichigo inside.

Then again, maybe her prince had already fallen into her life. One never knew . . .

* * *

Well, what do you think? I personally am having a ball writing this! It's soo fun! So you can hate it if you want, but I'm not going to stop writing!

**Please Review!**


	4. Broken Scars

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

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Before the rain . . . there's always darkness. — Me

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**Before The Rain — IV**

Ichigo leaned his head back, letting the wind flow through him as they rode through the snowy fields. They were riding Morning Glory again, and Rukia was leading the horse as Ichigo sat behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist as they flew through the mid-morning air.

Soon, they stopped and Ichigo looked surprised.

"Huh? Why are we stopping here?"

Rukia just smiled and hopped off of Morning Glory and began walking through the snow, taking her reigns and leading Morning Glory along behind her. Ichigo didn't miss the shiver that ran through Rukia as she lost the warmth of his body.

He jumped down beside her and took off his coat again, putting it around her shoulders as they walked along.

"Hey, Rukia, something seems to be bothering you. Wanna talk about it?" Ichigo asked. Rukia shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the snowy ground beneath her feet. Ichigo didn't push it. He knew she would talk if she wanted to.

As they slowly trudged through the snow, Ichigo's curosity was slowly growing.

"Oy, Rukia. Why are you out here with me alone? Wouldn't your brother go beserk?"

Rukia shrugged. "Yeah, probably. But I know you won't do anything to me," she said, glancing back at him and sticking out her tongue, as if challenging him to _actually_ do something. Ichigo just smirked, stuffing his cold hands into his pockets of his worn jeans as they continued walking along.

Finally, they came to a small stream and Rukia leaned down beside it, letting Morning Glory drink from the still un-frozed stream. After the horse had had her fill, Rukia climbed back on with Ichigo's help and they started off, Ichigo walking beside the trotting horse instead of riding.

"Ichigo . . . can I tell you something?"

Ichigo looked up briefly up at Rukia, then back down at the ground.

"Mm hm," he said.

"You can't tell anyone I told you, though."

Ichigo just nodded.

"Well, I'm turning sixteen in mid-Janurary and it is part of Kuchiki tradition that one has to be . . . married . . . on the eve of their sixteenth birthday."

"Congratulations," Ichigo said quietly, swallowing a lump in his throat.

Rukia sighed and jumped off her horse, beginning to walk beside Ichigo as he led the horse. He didn't meet her eyes.

"I don't _want_ to get married, though."

He turned to her in surprise and stopped walking. She stopped beside him, too, but neither said a word.

"Why not?" Ichigo asked, looking up at the sky as they walked along. She shrugged and kicked a rock in front of her, watching as he skipped and make several holes in the snow. Sighing, she followed Ichigo's gaze up into the sky. There were clouds beginning to shine through the horizon.

"Just . . . I'm not even sixteen yet, Ichigo. When I get married, whoever my husband happens to be is going to want a family, and if I don't even know the guy . . . God, I just can't imagine it," she said, shaking her head as her gaze fell from the ever-darkening sky to the snow in front of her as her feet shuffled it aside in order for her to move.

Ichigo didn't speak; he just nodded.

They continued to walk in silence while Morning Glory followed behind them. When they reached the barn, Renji was leaning against the railing and Ichigo winced. He turned and gave Rukia a look that said why-didn't-you-tell-me-he-was-coming?

"Yo, Slave!"

Ichigo's head jerked up and he glared at Renji.

"Whatcha doing out? You're supposed to be working like a good slave," he said, smirking as he saw the anger in Ichigo rise. "Rukia, your cousin's here, and she brought her midgit boyfriend, Hitsu-whatever with her."

"Let me help put Morning Glory away first," Rukia said, turning to help Ichigo lead the horse back into the stall. Renji groaned and rolled his eyes toward the sky.

"Rukia. Look, that is what the _slaves_ are for. Let's just go back to the house, OK?"

Renji, who was purposly trying to taunt Ichigo, failed to realize that the carrot-top was only inches away from him. His head realed backward as Ichigo's fist made contact with Renji's smirking face.

He fell backward into the snow, holding his bloody nose.

"Stop!" Rukia yelled in vain as Renji jumped to his feet and went after Ichigo. "Please, stop!"

Neither paid any attention to her; they continued brawling. Finally fed up with them, she stepped in between them as Ichigo was getting ready to kick Renji where it could affect his ever producing a family in the future.

Rukai glared at the both, more at Ichigo than anything.

"Ichigo, stop! You can't do this! They could kill you!"

"So what!" Ichigo yelled back, his face red with anger as he tried to get past the short, raven haired girl. "I don't care if I die! I'm gonna kill that red-haired bastard if it's the last thing I do!"

Rukia's eyes went wide as she turned around, now fully facing Ichigo. Her violet eyes bore deep into his as he glared over her head at Renji, who was leaning up against the railing to support himself and holding his bloody nose. His eyes ventured down to meet hers as she clenched her fists tightly at her sides.

"Why, Ichigo? Why?!"

"Because of how he treats us! What he calls us! They killed my mother! People like _him_ killed my mother!" he yelled the anger in his eyes glowing deeply. Rukia stepped back a little; she could almsot feel than anger and hatred raidating from Ichigo.

"Your mother?" she said softly, her clenched fists relaxing slightly as her unblinking eyes stared into his.

"They killed my mother . . . they took my sisters . . . and my father is most probably dead now because they worked him nearly to death in the fields seven years ago. They took away my family, and I'm going to kill every one of them!" he roared, once again trying to push past Rukia. She pressed both her hands against his chest, trying to push him away from Renji.

"Ichigo! Please, think about what you're saying, please!"

"I've thought it through, Rukia! I've had years and years to think it through! I've made up my mind, and I'm going to avenge my mother!"

"_Ichigo!_"

Ichigo stopped struggling against her as she yelled his name loud, harsh and full of determination. He looked down at her and gently placed his rough hand on her arm as he saw the tears flowing down her face.

"Ichigo . . . please . . . don't do it, please, I'm begging you . . ."

He didn't speak as he looked down at her. She shifted her gaze to look up into his eyes as she spoke, the clear, crystalized tears dripping down her pale face. No one spoke for a second. Ichigo continued to stare into her eyes and Renji just leaned against the railing, his eyes wide as he watched the exchance that was going on before him.

"My mother . . . my mother was taken way from me, too . . . not in the same way your mother was taken from you . . . but believe me, I know the pain. I know the pain of losing someone you love so much," she paused, and Ichigo took the given moment to break in.

"You don't know the pain that I do! You _never_ could feel the pain I do! You never could feel the pain . . . because _I_ was the one that killed her!"

Rukia fell silent and Renji took in a deep breath. Ichigo continued,

"I killed her. They knew the only way they could keep me under conrtol and to work like the other boys was to threaten my family. I-I messed up . . . _I_ messed up just _once_ and they killed her! They killed her because I couldn't keep my mouth shut and I couldn't stop myself."

"I know that pain, Ichigo. I know how you feel, but please, don't get yourself in trouble. Please . . ." Rukia begged.

"How the hell could you know what it feels like to be the cause of someone's death!" Ichigo yelled, his own fists clenching tightly as his eyes met Renji's. "How could you know what it feels like to kill someone you love?"

"Because . . . Becasue I killed him . . . I killed Kaien . . ."

Rukia's tears which were just beginning to clear, came faster as she turned away from Ichigo. Her small body was shaking with each breath she took. Ichigo just watched her, his eyes filled with anger, hatred, and now . . . concern.

"What?" he asked quietly, so quietly he wasn't she she had heard him.

"I-I killed Kaien. And I loved him. We were to be married when we were both older, because he was in the royal family. I _loved_ him, and I killed him," she said, her voice unshaking even though she was crying. Then, without a second glance at Ichigo, she ran off, her raven hair blowing in the wind.

"Bastard," Renji growled as he ran after Rukia.

Ichigo fell to the snow, dropping his head in his hands.

What have I done?

* * *

When Renji found Rukia, she was sitting in the deep, cold snow, her knees drawn up to her chest and her face wet with tears. Her skirt was soaked through from the snow, and he was sure he saw her shivering.

Bending down beside her, he wrapped his arms around her and she turned around, falling into his embrace as she sobbed loudly.

Neither spoke; Renji just let her cry, because he knew it was something she needed to let out. But . . . damn that stable boy! Rukia hadn't cried over Kaien or her mother in a year! She was beginning to heal and then this stupid, rude stable boy breaks in and reopens those scars.

When she finally pulled away, she looked up at him and smiled.

"Thanks, Renji. You're a good friend."

He smiled sadly and nodded.

I only wish I could be more than that . . .

"Come on. Let's bring you home, you're in no condition to be staying out here; it's cold," he said gently, taking her hand and helping her to her feet.

She nodded and allowed him to lead her back to the castle, but every once in a while, she would glance back at the private stables, of which she could just barely see. Renji noticed and said,

"Rukia, please forget about that boy. He's just hurting you," he begged, trying to restrain from calling him a slave.

"I know I should . . . but I just can't," she said, wiping tears from her eyes as she tore her gaze from the small dot in the distance that she knew was where that boy was at.

"He reminds you of Kaien, doesn't he?" Renji asked, not meeting her eyes when they came up to his face. Sighing, she answered,

"Yes. A little. He looks alike, but his personality is different. But Ichigo grew up as a slave, and Kaien as a noble, so I can understand their differences," she said softly, her hand, which was clasped in Renji's, moving to wrap around her stomach.

Silence fell over them as they walked the remainder of the way to the castle. Rukia stood on the front steps as Renji stared at her. He said,

"Rukia . . . when did we grow so far apart? I feel as though you talk to that slave more than me," he said, wincing when he realized his slip-up in calling Ichigo a slave. But this time Rukia didn't yell at him. Instead, she said quietly,

"When you started that."

Renji knew what she was reffuring to. _Slaves . . ._ He used to treat them the same way she did; he would smile and talk to them, and together they would bring surprises for the little kids and they wouldn't call the slaves names; they would treat them kindly. But on day several years ago, a slave was responsible for injuring Renji so he could never ride, seriously, on a horse again. His leg had broken in several places and had healed wrong. You could tell if you looked real close; he limped slightly when he walked.

So he had taken his anger of not being able to ride, what he loved most, on the slaves. He had tried, for Rukia'a sake, to still treat them kindly, but soon found out that he needed somewhere to release his anger, or he would take it out on his friends.

Like he had on Rukia . . .

"I'm sorry Rukia, I really am. But that is the way I am. If I didn't do what I do . . . I would take it out on you, and I can't do that because . . . because I love you, Rukia," he said quietly, his eyes not meeting hers.

"W-what?" she asked quietly. "R-Renji . . ."

"I _love_ you, Rukia. Please believe I do, please,"

"I-I . . . Renji . . ." Tears began to form in her eyes again. "I'm sorry, Renji . . ."

Rukia opened the door and ran inside, hiding her face as the tears flowed freely down. She could hear Renji calling after her, but she didn't stop. Not until she was inside her room and she had closed the door firmly behind her.

Sliding down to the floor, she buried her face in between her knees and let herself cry. Something she hadn't done for a long time. She had hoped, _prayed_, that Renji wouldn't feel anything for her. Because she knew that, at one time, she had fallen for him, hard, and hadn't been able to pick herself up for years. But she had finally pushed past that feeling, because she could never love a man for eternity that took his anger out on slaves.

But he had that, too, because he had loved her. He had done everything for her, but she couldn't love him anymore.

She had pushed past that, and she could never go back. She couldn't love him, she _couldn't_.

She had to move on, and so did he. They had to push on.

They couldn't love each other.

She couldnt return his feelings, and she had to let him know. But she didn't have anyone to talk to. Ichigo was mad at her now and probably hated her.

Rukia moved herself from the floor and climbed up onto her bed, fingering the picture she had just finished drawing that morning. A ghost of a smile flowed across her face as she ran her slim fingers over the face of Ichigo. Then, using the back of her hand to wipe her tears away, the carefully fingered the edge of the picture, biting her lip as she began tearing the edge of the picture out.

Glancing at the portin in her hand, she stiffled a sob as she crumpled it in her hand and threw it across the room, letting it bounce on the wall.

Like she had torn Ichigo from the picture, she had torn him from her life earlier that day as she had yelled at him. She could see the pain in his face as she yelled, but for the split second, she couldn't care.

But now . . . that pain . . . she just wanted to take it away and hold him, wiping away his pain.

But it was too deep. His pain and scars dug deeply into his life, and no matter what she did, she could never heal them.

Like her scars, once they were reopened, they took a long time to close again.

And he needed time, so she was going to give it to him.

* * *

Weeell, what do ya think?

**Please Review!**


	5. I'll Help You Stand

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

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_Before the rain . . . there's always darkness. — Me_

* * *

**Before The Rain — V**

"What are you sulking for?" Hinamori asked, smiling as she sat down on the bed beside Rukia.

Rukia, who had been in her room since earlier that day without coming out even for breakfast, sat up and smiled at Hinamori.

"No reason, really. Just life, I guess."

"Huh. Well, guess what? Shiro-chan wants me to marry him!"

Rukia's eyes widened and she temporally forgot about her troubles. Hinamori looked as though she was positively bursting with happiness as she showed Rukia the ring that the white-haired boy had given her. The band was a soft, silver color and right in the middle of the ring was a clear, beautiful stone that Rukia was sure was diamond. On each side of the diamond there was a smaller, red stone. The overall look was beautiful with the red reflecting off of the diamond and casting a light red glow across the silver band.

"Wow . . . it's beautiful," Rukia said, not quite able to tear her eyes away from the ring. Hinamori was radiating with happiness. Rukia asked, "But aren't you a little young to marry?"

"I'm older than you," Hinamori pointed out. "I'm already sixteen. And besides, you're getting married soon, too, right?"

Rukia nodded sadly, the memories of everything that had happened within the past few hours crashing back to her.

"What's wrong, Rukia? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Rukia nodded again, looking up to meet Hinamori's eyes.

"Yeah. I know. And . . . Well, I guess I don't really want to get married. I'm happy how I am. If I were to marry, I would be expected to have a family to carry on the Kuchiki family line. And I'm not ready for a family. I mean, you probably would mind because you've known Hitsugaya since you were a child and you love him, but whoever I marry will be someone I don't even know! I mean . . . It wouldn't be _that_ bad, but being, you know, _involved_ . . ."

A blush spread over Rukia's face and it dawned on Hinamori what Rukia meant.And she, being the slightly less shameless one when talking about such things with a girl, ask her to talk to it with a boy and it'll _never _happen, said,

"Oh! You mean sex?"

"_Yes_," Rukia said, not quite sure how her cousin could be so easy about it.

"Well . . . that _would _be a problem. I've heard that in arranged marriages, you get a week to know each other before the marriage, and it would be offending to the other person if they didn't, you know, sleep together, on your marriage night."

"Hinamori; this is _not _helping me!" Rukia said, her eyes disbelieving as Hinamori just blushed and shrugged.

"Well, you always have the choice of marrying someone you know," she pointed out, falling back onto the soft blankets of Rukia's bed. Rukia fell back with her, glad to have some company. To get Hinamori off of the subject of her own troubled, Rukia said,

"You know, a few days ago while I was walking through the stables, I met this kind boy. He helped me up when I tripped."

Hinamori perked up, forgetting about the arranged marriage and smiling brightly as she stared at Rukia.

"Really?"

"Mm hm. He was really nice, but then I didn't see him for a few days."

"And?"

"Well . . . when I went riding one day, I was talking with Renji when we heard a loud crashing coming from inside the stables; we went to see what it was, and I saw the boy again, but he was covered in feeding buckets. He'd knocked them all down."

"What's his name?" Hinamori asked, turning over on her side so she was now facing her cousin.

Rukia smiled at her eagerness.

"You know, when you're around people besides me, you seem more shy and quiet, but when we're together, your like . . . a whole new person!"

"That's because we've known each other since birth. And no changing the subject."

Rukia laughed and began telling Hinamori about Ichigo, but forgetting to tell her cousin his name. How they would ride together, talk together, and how she ended up telling him everything about her mom; which she had never told anyone else before. Hinamori drunk it all up happily.

"Wow! He seems awesome! But you said he's a stable boy?"

"Mm hm. Yeah."

"Can I meet him?"

Rukia bit her lip and sat up, crossing her hands in her lap and looking away from Hinamori. Her eyes glanced briefly across the room to the small, wadded piece of paper in the corner that used to belong to the picture she had spent so much time working on when she believed that she and Ichigo could really be friends.

Her smile fell and she tried to hold back tears.

_She couldn't believe she had said those things to him . . . yelled at him . . ._

"Rukia?"

Hinamori's voice cut into her thoughts.

"Are you alright?"

Rukia turned around and looked bravely at Hinamori.

"Yeah. I just can't bring you to meet him."

"Oh." Hinamori seemed disappointed. "Why not?"

"Because we had a . . . a fight, I guess. He must hate me now," she said sadly, staring out her window at the falling snowflakes. They slowly drifted down, in not any certain pattern, but beautiful nonetheless. _She wished she could be the snow._ The snow was free; it did whatever it wanted, went where it wanted and was like what it wanted.

It didn't have to form itself to others wishes.

"Ah . . . come on, he doesn't hate you. Everyone has fights; even me and Shiro-chan."

"You fight?"

"Sure! But only a little."

Rukia glanced briefly over at Hinamori and smiled a small, sad smile.

"Well, this was bigger than just a little, Hina. I _know_ he must hate me now."

Rukia honestly didn't know why she cared so much if Ichigo hated her; she was to be married in a few weeks, and then she would barely ever even see him again. She really shouldn't care.

She shouldn't, she kept telling herself . . . but then. . . why did she?

"Hey, I know. Let's go cheer you up!" Hinamori said, standing from the bed and placing her hands on her hips. Rukia smiled at the sight before her; Hinamori was wearing a light blue, jean skirt and a pink sweater, but the determined look on her face and her pose, with her hands on her hips and her feet placed firmly on the ground, made her seem like a whole new person.

"OK, Hina. What do you want to do?"

"Hm . . . Well, you like riding - "

"No," Rukia said firmly.

"Oh. Right. The stable boy . . . by the way, what's his name? You _somehow_ avoided my question earlier."

Rukia smirked, then said, "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Right. Well, you could meet Shiro-chan. You haven't seen him in like . . . two years," Hinamori suggested happily. Rukia agreed and they set out to find the white-haired kid. They had no sooner started looking than when they came across Hitsygaya, talking with Byakuya, in the living room. Hinamori walked in, slightly less bubbly than when she had been with Rukia, and walked up behind Hitsugaya, laying her hand gently on his shoulder. He turned around and smiled.

Standing from his seat, he bowed quickly to Byakuya and spoke.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-sama, for your blessing."

Then Byakuya also stood, and, with one final bow, walked out of the room. Hinamori turned to Hitsugaya.

"Shiro-chan, what were you talking about?"

A vien popped in Hitsugaya's head.

"Don't call me that. And Kuchiki-sama said he gave us his blessing. As your uncle and the highest noble in the family, he says he approves or our marriage."

Rukia stood back and watched, with a smile on her face, as Hinamori hugged Hitsugaya. She wished she could be like that; happy with someone. She could have been . . . once upon a time, with Kaien. But he was gone now.

With a sigh, Rukia forced the fading smile back onto her face.

The past was the past, and no matter how painful that was, she had to let it go.

_Then why was it _so_ hard?_

* * *

Ichigo kicked a pile of hay as he walked along, finally dumping the horse feed into the different buckets where they belonged. Over the past four hours, he had been dwelling on what an idiot he had been. How could he have said those things? And who was Kaien? Had she . . . had _Rukia_ . . . really _killed_ a man? She just . . . it didn't . . . hell, he wasn't sure of _anything_ anymore. And he blamed it on that pretty, raven haired princess that had fallen into his life. She had turned everything upside down and made him feel like be actually belonged somewhere . . . then _this_ happened.

He was such an idiot.

Even admitting such to himself _completely_ broke his ego. He knew that he should say he was sorry . . . but he was a mere stable boy. Unless she came back, there was no way he could get in touch with her.

How would he say he was sorry, even if he _could_ get in touch with her?

Ichigo stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked a bucket on the ground. It flew across the stalls and hit into the wall, alarming all of the horses. Sighing, he dropped down into a pile of hay and put his head in his hands.

_What in the hell had he done?_

"Kurosaki."

Ichigo nearly jumped out of his skin as the voice spoke. His head flew up to meet the eyes of Byakuya Kuchiki. Jumping to his feet, he quickly brushed straw off of his worn jeans and black, turtleneck sweater before making a quick bow to Byakuya.

"Sorry, Kuchiki-sama."

"How are the horses?" Byakuya asked, walking around to the different stalls and petting the different animals. Ichigo was utterly confused; Byakuya _never_ came in here to talk to him like this.

"Uh . . . they are fine, Kuchiki-sama. Zabimaru should be ridden more often, though. He gets restless and kicks at the stall doors. I am afraid he will break something."

Ichigo watched as Byakuya walked around. He finally came to a stop only about ten feet from Ichigo and stared him in the eye for a minute. Ichigo was uncomfortable under his gaze, but didn't break it as it would be disrespectful, and his family might already be in danger from what he had done earlier.

Byakuya broke the stare and turned around to begin petting Senbonzakura.

"As you no doubt already know, you were not supposed to receive this job in the first place."

Ichigo didn't respond; he knew Byakuya wasn't done speaking.

"I gave it to you, although you seemed quite capable of working in the fields, for two reasons. The first would be my sister; she seems to like you. I do _not_ approve of this, however, but she has had her heart broken too many times for it to be hurt again."

Ichigo felt a pang of guilt in his heart; he had already hurt her. And he couldn't take it back.

"The second is because I knew you would do it without causing trouble. Aizen-sama, your previous owner, said when he sold you to us, that you must be treated the same, and that your family must be threatened in order to keep you in line. But you seem to be working fine like this and doing everything you can for these animals, so I see no reason to threaten your family."

"Thank you, sir," Ichigo said. Byakuya turned around to look at him.

"That being said, I also feel the need to tell you that your sister, Yuzu, works at my castle."

Ichigo's head snapped up and, momentarily forgetting to be respectful, yelled, "What?!"

Byakuya let out a small, amused smile.

"Yes. She is a cook, and a good one at that. She has been working under my control for about three years now. She is happy, but when she heard you were working here, she desperately wanted to meet you. I am not one to usually grant my slaves wishes, but she is such a kind little girl, I thought it was the least I could do for her, seeing as we just received work a month ago that your father passed away. You are to come up to the castle with me when I leave here today, and you will be allowed to see your sister for a few hours. Understood?"

Ichigo nodded numbly. Yuzu . . . she was alive! But his dad . . . he had always assumed the worst, but having it confirmed. . . _God,_ _his dad_ . . .

"Thank you, Kuchiki-sama. If you do not mind my asking, do you know where my other sister, Karin, is?"

Byakuya shook his head.

"No. Now, ready my horse. I wish to ride him."

Ichigo nodded and ran over to the stall where Byakuya was standing. In ten minutes, the horse was ready and Byakuya jumped on, not offering another word as he departed.

When he left the barn, Ichigo collapsed back into his position on the pile of straw.

He was going to the castle . . . to see Yuzu. He hadn't seen her in five years; what did she look like? Was she different? He knew it was going to hurt him. The last time he had seen his sister she was six and wanted to be held when she was scared and asked for a goodnight kiss before curling up beside him and falling to sleep. She wouldn't be that same little girl anymore . . . and he wasn't sure he could face it.

* * *

Rukia dropped down onto a chair inside the kitchen, Hinamori following her. A little, sandy haired girl ran up to them, bowed and said,"Would you like anything, Kuchiki-san?"

"Yuzu . . . please, call me Rukia. And yes please, could I have some tea?"

The little girl nodded and, after Hinamori asked for the same thing, she bounced off to get it.

Rukia turned back to Hinamori and said, "OK. That little girl who just ran up to us is Yuzu Kurosaki. The red-haired girl is Orihime Inoue, and the other girl is Ururu. They're all young, I know, but they're wonderful cooks. Well, accept Orihime; she cleans. But don't tell her her cooking is bad, alright?"

As Hinamori nodded, the red-haired girl, Orihime, walked over and smiled at Rukia.

"Oh, Kuchiki-san! It's so nice to see you again!"

The two girls hugged and Orihime sat down beside Rukia, wiping her hands off on a cup-towel.

"How has everything been you you, Inoue?" Rukia asked. "Oh, and this is my cousin, Hinamori."

"Hi!" Orihime greeted happily. She then said, "Well, things around here have been good. Do you know that no one likes Raman with green celery and bean paste? It's so weird."

She looked mystified.

Rukia shot a glance at Hinamori as she stuck out her tongue, suddenly understanding what Rukia had said earlier.

Orihime continued talking. "And guess what? Yesterday, while I was bringing the workers their lunch, I got to talk to _him_ again!"

"Really?" Rukia said, her eyes glowing.

Hinamori was just completely and utterly _confused_. Rukia took notice and said,

"Oh, there's this boy she met on the trip when they were transferred here. His name is Ishida Uryuu. I think she likes him."

Orihime promptly turned red and tried to deny it, but soon both Rukia and Hinamori were poking at her, laughing and giggling. Yuzu came back and gave them their tea, then went back to cooking dinner. As Hinamori watched Rukia and Orihime squabble, she smiled. Just as she was about to get up and put her cup in the sink, something clicked in her mind. She turned around to face Rukia and said,

"Wait! That's Yuzu Kurosaki. Isn't the boy you were telling me about Ichigo _Kurosaki_?"

Rukia jumped, her eyes going wide as she nearly dropped her cup. Yuzu, who was apparently listening, stopped what she was doing and walked over to Rukia.

"You know brother?" Her eyes were glowing with hope and she was smiling happily. Rukia nodded and Yuzu's smile grew. She asked, "What is he like? I don't remember him much. Does he still have orange hair?"

"Yeah. He has orange hair and brown eyes and he's strong and kind."

Yuzu was on cloud nine as she listened to the stories Rukia told her about Ichigo. She told the little girl about how she had met him, how she had found him the second time, covered in buckets, and how he was always to nice to her.

"Kuchiki-sama said I could meet him. When he comes back from his ride today, he's going to be bringing Ichi-nii!"

Rukia gasped quietly.

_Ichigo was going to be in the castle?_

* * *

Rukia walked out of the kitchen nearly twenty minutes later. Her hands were in her pockets as she stared down at her feet. Hinamori, beside her, was trying to cheer her up.

"Come on, maybe when he's here, you could talk to him. I bet you anything that he doesn't hate you; he is probably waiting for you to say something because men are so thick headed that way."

Rukia just shrugged.

They continued walking and neither spoke. When they were nearing the staircase to Rukia's room, Hinamori suddenly said,

"Rukia, watch out!"

But it was too late. She ran head on into something. Or, more precisely, _someone_. A hand reached out to help her up and she took it, finally looking into the face of the person that had helped her.

"That's the third time I've helped you up," the voice said softly.

Rukia gasped.

"Ichigo!"

* * *

Well, that was long. But I wrote it pretty quickly then had to wait days and days to put it up because of the stupid alert system. Anyway, I hope you liked this! I introduced Ishida and Orihime, too.

**Please Review!**


	6. Our Prints In Blood

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing! The song is **Far Away **by **Nickelback**!

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Our prints in blood, I'll hold your hand. You fell, I smiled, I'll help you stand.

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**Before The Rain — VI **

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed, shocked, as she took her hand out of his once she was steady on her feet again. He looked down at the ground, his orange hair hiding his facial expressions from her. He glanced up slightly, his brown eyes meeting her own violet ones. She didn't blink and he didn't either; he was staring into her eyes, searching for the hate he was sure had to be there.

But it wasn't. All he saw in her eyes was sadness; sadness he knew that he had caused.

"Hello, Rukia," he said quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Hinamori gave Rukia a soft jab in the back. She glared at her friend, but turned around to face Ichigo again. He was still looking down at the floor, not speaking. She said,

"Ichigo . . . I-" she stopped speaking, reaching up to twist a strand of her hair in her fingers. "Can we . . . talk . . . or something?"

He looked at her for a second more before he brushed past her, his hands still in his pockets. As Byakuya followed him, he whispered back,

"Sorry, Rukia. I can't talk now."

She stared after him, tears prickling in her eyes as she watched him walk off without so much as a goodbye.

"Rukia . . . " Hinamori started, but she didn't get to speak, because Rukia pushed past her and ran off, knowing she was close to tears. Hinamori yelled, "Rukia!"

But her friend was gone. She had run out of the house, leaving the door swinging open behind her. Hinamori sighed in defeat.

God! These two were _so_ thickheaded!

* * *

"Yuzu?"

Ichigo's voice was quiet and calm as he stared at his sister. She was wearing a white apron and was holding a cooking spoon in her hand, but the second she saw him, she dropped the spoon and ran over, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.

"Ichi-nii!"

Ichigo noticed she was crying. He leaned down to where he was closer to her height and pulled her into his arms, letting her cry softly into his shirt.

When all her tears had been cried, she stepped back. Ichigo smiled at her, all traces of worry or sadness gone from his face as his eyes raked over his little sister.

"God, Yuzu, you've changed _so_ much."

She blushed as he wiped a strand of hair out of her face.

Then, he hugged her again and didn't let go until he was sure she was going to push him away. Then, Yuzu began happily yapping about how she had lived for the past four years.

"And I like Rukia-chan! She comes and talks with us a lot. I met her when I was new. I was scared at first, but she gave me a hug and a flower and I felt happy. I was eight at the time, and she was twelve. Her and Inoue-san are my best friends!" she said, pointing to another girl across the room. The girl blushed and turned away. Ichigo raised his eyebrow.

"Do you talk to Rukia a lot?" Ichigo asked.

"Mm hm," Yuzu nodded, her eyes glowing as she began telling Ichigo of the times she had spent with Rukia, in and out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Yuzu, where is Karin? When you were moved, where did she go?" Ichigo asked, standing to his feet and placing his hand on Yuzu's head.

"Oh. Well . . . Karin went somewhere else. I haven't seen her in four years. But . . . but . . . I think she's OK. She's strong, and she had Urahara-kun as her owner. That was when she left. I don't know where they are, but I know that he said he would take good care of her," Yuzu said, smiling as she looked up at Ichigo. "Oh, Ichi-nii . . . it's so good to see you again."

He smiled and hugged her again.

It wasn't good to see her again . . . it was wonderful.

* * *

_This time, This place  
Misused, Mistakes  
Too long, Too late  
Who was I to make you wait?_

Rukia dropped down in the flower garden, sitting on one of the benches. She dropped her head in her hands, willing herself not to cry. Ever since . . . ever since her fight with Ichigo . . . she had been closer to tears than ever before. It seemed to her like she was always fighting tears.

Honestly, why did she care so much if Ichigo hated her? Why . . . why did she feel as if her heart was breaking in two as Ichigo brushed past her so easily? Why did it seem like she wanted to cry so desperately? Why did she feel as if . . . as if . . . she would give the world to have him speak to her again?

Why?

Was . . . was it love?

Her mom used to tell her of love. And she had experienced love with Kaien . . . but she had only known Ichigo for a short time; maybe a week. Could it . . . _could it_ be love?

_Just one chance  
Just one breath  
Just in case there's just one left  
'Cause you know,_

Not knowing the answers to any of her questions, Rukia just sat in the middle of the garden for what seemed like forever. She sat . . . and she thought.

What was she going to do? She hated her life!

Rukia cried out in frustration as she kicked a log that was holding in a bed of beautiful roses. Bending down, she took one of the roses and picked it gently from its stem.

She sat down on the ground, her negs beneath her as she turned the rose around, finding a small thorn on the stem. Pressing her finger to it, she let the thorn rip through her soft, pale skin. She bit her lip, not letting a word of pain slip past her lips. Once she had cut a small line from the top of her thumb down to the bottom, she dropped the crumpled rose to the ground.

_'Cause you know,_

_That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I miss you  
Been far away for far too long_

Watching as the warm, red liquid ran over her finger, she took a deep breath in, her body shaking from the slight pain that seemed to travel throughout all her nerves. Biting her lip harder, until she drew blood, she winced. Once her blood had completely covered her thumb, she used her other thumb to wipe it around on her four other fingers and her palm, then pressed her hand to a small, white rock on the ground. She gasped as the cold stone bit at her hand.

When she took her hand away, the stone had her five finger prints on it and her palm print.

"To look back on my life . . . and to remember when I was myself, uncomformed to my family's wishes. To remember . . . to remember when I still had those beautiful memories of my loved ones that are beginning to fade. And to remember love . . ."

_I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
and you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore_

She cut herself off then pressed the open wound to a piece of cloth she had in her pocket.

Leaning back against the bench she had been sitting on only minutes ago, she smiled as she looked up into the sky.

As she watched the sunset, she wished that it would stay beautiful forever. But the beautiful colors that painted the sky just before dark closed in were only there for a few minutes. There . . . and then they went away.

And she wondered, wherever he was, if Ichigo was watching the sunset, too.

Soon, as she continued to stare vacantly into the sky, the sun has almost gone down all the way. It had to have been at least an hour since she came out here. It had been roughly four-thirty when she had left the house, and it never started to get dark until at least five-thirty or six.

Sighing and picking herself up off the bench, she smiled as she took a deep breath in. She closed her eyes and let the wind wash over her, let her jean skirt fly in the wind . . . let her hair whip across her face.

And she gasped when she felt a hand on her face. A hand that wasn't her own. She opened her eyes and looked up.

"I-Ichigo . . ."

_On my knees, I'll ask  
Last chance for one last dance  
'Cause with you, I'd withstand  
All of hell to hold your hand_

He stood there, his orange hair sticking out deeply with his black turtleneck and jeans. His rough hand danced over her face as he moved her hair out of her eyes. Neither spoke. They looked deeply into the other's faces, looking for the unspoken words. Her violet eyes were caught in his . . . she couldn't move her gaze as his brown orbs gazed deeply into her.

And it felt like he could see into her very soul.

"I'm sorry, Rukia," he began, not breaking their gaze as he cupped the side of her face with his hand.

"Ichigo . . ."

"I'm so sorry, Rukia. Those things I said . . . God, I didn't mean to make you cry. It hurts to see you cry . . ." he trailed off and smiled the smallest bit as he cocked his head to the side. She smiled, too, reaching her hand up to cover his.

"I can't deny that it hurt, Ichigo . . . but please, don't . . . please, don't feel as though it was your fault that your mother died. Please stop blaming yourself for the past. Please move on, because if you don't, you'll be hurt in the worst ways. And you'll hurt those around you. Like . . . like you hurt me . . ."

_I'd give it all  
I'd give for us  
Give anything but I won't give up  
'Cause you know,_

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Rukia . . . I just . . . I dunno. I just lost control, I guess. I do that a lot. Well . . . not a lot, because . . . God. I'm rambling again," Ichigo paused and reached a hand up to run his fingers through his messy head of orange hair. He continued, "Rukia . . . I'm sorry. And when I say that, you'd better believe I mean it. Because you are the first person I have I've ever said that in my life besides to my family."

Rukia smothered a laugh.

"Glad you find me amusing," Ichigo said, smirking. But then his face turned softer. "Look, I would really like it if . . . if you would take me riding again . . ."

He left his sentence open, letting it be more of a question than a statement. Rukia turned her gaze to meet his, her head cocking to the side.

"If you will let me," she said.

He nodded and smiled, reaching down to take her hand in his. He broke their gaze, looking down at the ground as he said slowly,

"Rukia . . . who was Kaien?"

"I-I . . . Kaien was . . . " she started, but broke herself off as she felt tears well up in her eyes.

_'Cause you know_

_That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I miss you  
Been far away for far too long_

Ichigo gently took her in his arms as he saw her begin to cry. She stiffened, but quickly relaxed in his embrace, sighing deeply as she let her tears finally fall. He muttered,

"You can tell me when you feel like it. I'll wait."

He held her until the sun had disappeared over the horizon. There was still a little light being cast along the grassy plains, but not much. Then, she pulled back and wiped away the remainder of her tears. He smiled and held out his hand. She reached out and took the orange daisy he had gently clasped in his fingers.

"Thank you," she said quietly, twirling it around in her fingertips. He nodded. She looked back up at him for a second before asking, "Ichigo . . . you sister . . . her name's Yuzu, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It was so nice to see her again. But Karin, my other sister . . . Yuzu said that she was sent somewhere else, and that she hasn't seen her in four years. I hope she's alright."

He trailed off and stared into the distance.

"Ichigo . . . could you do something for me?" Rukia asked, gently placing the flower he had given her on the bench they were standing beside. He nodded.

_I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
and you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore_

"What is it?" he asked softly, tightening his grip on her hand as she hauled him over to the rock that bore her handprint in blood. He gasped when he saw it. But beside hers, on the rock, was a large space.

Large enough for another hand.

"Could you . . . could you put your handprint beside mine? So whenever I look at this rock . . . I can remember you as well everything else that this signifies?"

"In blood?" he asked. She nodded. He looked slightly nervous, but leaned over to pick up the rose she had discarded earlier. He pressed it into his thumb, and carved the same mark on his hand as she had in hers. He didn't even wince as the blood ran over his hand. She gripped his other hand tightly in hers, her eyes shining with anxiety as she watched his blood slowly drop to the ground below. When he had spread it across his fingers and palm, he pressed it to the rock.

_I wanted you to stay  
'Cause I needed  
I need to hear you say  
That I love you_

He pulled it back after a second and smiled, taking the hand that she had pressed to the rock earlier, holding it lightly in his as he pressed their hands together. His hand was large and scarred while hers was small and soft. Their blood ran together, as she had removed the cloth from her hand.

"I'll always remember you, no matter what," Ichigo said, pulling his hand back and leaning down to write something on the rock beside their handprints, also in blood. After he was finished, she looked down at the words.

_Our prints in blood, I'll hold your hand. You fell, I smiled, I'll help you stand._

"Cheesy, huh?" Ichigo asked, blushing as he took his hand away and wiped some of the blood off on his jeans.

"Yeah, just a little. But I like it."

Rukia laughed at the look on Ichigo's face. He raised an eyebrow and then shrugged.

Rukia stood to her feet and smiled as she reached over and grabbed the flower that Ichigo had given her.

_I have loved you all along  
And I forgive you  
For being away for far too long  
So keep breathing_

"Now, we need to get back before dark, stupid," Ichigo said, smiling as he took Rukia's hand. She stuck her tongue out at him and jabbed him in the stomach as they walked out of the garden hand-in-hand.

At the garden entrance, they stopped and Ichigo turned to Rukia, holding her hand tightly in his.

"Ah . . . Rukia, there's something else I kinda wanted to say."

"Mm hm?" she asked, looking up into his eyes as he scratched his head.

"Ah . . . well . . ." Ichigo rolled his eyes to the ever-darkening sky and then turned to look at her again. He swallowed all of his pride, trying to force it into a corner. But it was like trying to shove a square inside a circle. He finally said, "I . . . well, I like ya."

She smiled.

"I like you too, dofus."

"No, that's not what I meant. I . . ."

Words didn't seem to be enough, so Ichigo sighed, pulling his hand from his hair and letting it fall to rest on Rukia's cheek. Shrugging and preparing himself for a slap or kick, or worse, he lowered his face and pressed his lips to hers.

_'Cause I'm not leaving  
Hold on to me and, never let me g_o

_

* * *

_

Wanna take bets on if Ichigo gets hurt or not for kissing Rukia? I'll start the bidding at one hundred.

Please Review!


	7. The Pain I've Caused

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

**

* * *

**

Our prints in blood, I'll hold your hand. You fell, I smiled, I'll help you stand.

**

* * *

**

**Before The Rain — VII**

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise as Ichigo's soft lips caressed her own. It was a strange feeling . . . nothing like she had imagined. Her whole body was warm, and her hands were trembling as she brought them up to tangle her fingers in his hair. She didn't quite know what she was doing, but she began to kiss him back, her eyes sliding closed as he moved his hands off of her face to rest them on her hips. Sensing that he wasn't doing anything wrong, Ichigo tilted his head to the side and deepened the kiss by running his tongue across her lips, asking for entrance.

Before she had fully grasped what was happening in the first place, Ichigo pulled back, resting his forehead against hers as they gasped for breath. Rukia was flushed and trembling as his arms moved around her waist. He smirked.

"Understand now?" he asked softly, reaching one of his hands up to run his thumb across her cheek.

Still breathing hard, Rukia took her hands from his hair and leaned them on his chest. She turned her had to the side, biting her lip as she tried to hold back tears.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked, worry clouding his voice as he reached out his hand to touch her face. She jerked away from him and turned away, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Her whole body was shaking as she tried to keep sobs from escaping.

"S-sorry, Ichigo. I can't . . . I can't . . ."

"Can't what?" Ichigo asked, walking over and placing his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and jerked her arm out of his grip.

She didn't answer, so Ichigo repeated his question, this time with a little more force than necessary. He didn't realize how harshly he had said it until Rukia turned around and, with her fists clenched in front of her and tears streaming down her face, yelled,

"Dammit! _This_! I can't do this! I can't . . . I can't love you! I'm getting married soon! Please, Ichigo . . . God, please . . . don't make this any harder for me than you have to. I don't . . . _can't_ love you!" she said, her gaze falling to the garden ground beneath her. "Please . . . just leave me alone."

Ichigo looked shocked at her outburst. His usual scowl was replaced by a look of hurt as he watched Rukia shake in front of him. Before he realized what he was doing, he walked forward and pulled Rukia into his arms. She struggled against him for a minute, but then broke down crying, her knees shaking beneath her. If it weren't for Ichigo's strong arms holding her up, she would have fallen to the ground.

She laid her head on his chest and let her tears soak through his shirt. He didn't say a word as he held her and let her cry. She had a million emotions running through her, and she wasn't sure which to act on, so she just let everything loose and cried in his arms.

Finally, she pulled back and turned around again, wiping away the remainder of her tears with the back of her hand. She didn't look Ichigo in the face as she said,

"Thank you, Ichigo. And . . . goodbye."

Without another word, she began running off. But before she could go five steps, Ichigo darted out and grabbed her arm, holding her in place. When she turned around, the look on his face surprised her, and maybe even scared her a little. When he spoke, she felt the tears return.

"Look, Rukia. You can run away, but it isn't going to help. You can keep running, but that won't hide you from the world. Eventually, you _are_ going to find yourself in a position where you can no longer run, and it is going to take a lot of courage to break through that." Ichigo paused and took a breath, slightly happy to see that Rukia was no longer struggling against him. He continued, "Rukia . . . I like you, but I don't know if it's love. It might be and it might not be, but when I kissed you . . . I felt like everything in my world had melted away except you. You were the only thing that mattered. And it felt as if the rain inside me had stopped."

"I-Ichigo . . ."

Rukia's eyes were wide and she was now relaxed in Ichigo's grip. She turned to face him more, her eyes still shining with unshed tears.

"Let me finish. I almost _never_ say something so profound, so . . ."

Ichigo took a deep breath and let his hard grip on Rukia's arm relax a little.

"I think I might love you Rukia. I know it sounds crazy; we've only known each other for about a week and a half . . . but I think I started falling in love with you the minute I helped you up when you fell. I've never met anyone quite like you. You're smart . . . you're kind . . . and you're beautiful. Your drawings suck, and you act like a boy sometimes . . . but you're . . . well, _you_. I don't think I could ever imagine you any other way. You're special and you're not to be wasted on some man who doesn't love you and who only married you for the sake of some stupid tradition. _You_ need to choose who you love and who you don't. No one can choose that for you. And to hell with your brother and that damn tradition. If you go through with this and get married to a man who doesn't love you . . . or even know you, your life will be ruined and I don't want to see that happen. I really don't, Rukia. I want to see you happy, even if that means away from me and away from here. I just want you to be happy, and I don't think that will happen in this stupid arranged marriage."

Ichigo stopped and took a breath. He looked down at Rukia. She was staring at the ground, her raven hair falling over her violet eyes.

"You . . . you think I'm beautiful?" she asked quietly.

Ichigo turned a deep shade of red and began stuttering.

"Ah . . . w-well, yeah, of course, I mean . . . " he trailed off and ran a hand through his orange hair, breathing out deeply into the night air. He could see his cold breath in the light coming from the porch of the castle.

"No one has ever told me that," Rukia said slowly. Then, smirking, she punched him in the arm. "And _no one_ tells me my drawing suck unless they like getting hurt."

Ichigo rubbed the sore spot on his arm, growling but smiling at the same time. His face then turned serious again.

"Rukia . . . don't let your brother run your life. Be happy."

She smiled and nodded.

"I'll try. But I don't think I can stop it. The wedding will take place," she said sadly. "I don't want to be married . . . because I like you, too, Ichigo."

She was cut off as Ichigo leaned down to kiss her again. She didn't even pause this time and let him deepen the kiss without a second thought. She moaned as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Her hands were tangled in his hair again to hold him down at her level and his own hands were on the back of her head, holding her her body flush against his.

"Oh . . . Ichigo . . . "

Ichigo smirked as his lips left her mouth and began trailing down her neck. She bent her head back with a moan as his lips and tongue moistened her soft skin.

"The _hell_?!"

Ichigo and Rukia jumped apart.

Turning his gaze to see Renji standing on the pathway leading up to the castle, Ichigo gasped. Renji was frowning, and, if looks could kill, Ichigo would be six feet under. Rukia was blushing like mad, and as Renji began stomping toward the two, Ichigo stood in front of her protectively and glared at Renji.

"Rukia, what the hell are you doing out here freaking makin' out with this damn slave?" Renji exploded, shoving past a surprised Ichigo and grabbing Rukia's collar tightly. Her small hands flew up to try and break free of Renji's grip, but she was no match for him and he had soon lifted her several inches off of the ground.

Ichigo, once he was past his initial surprise, reacted by kicking his foot out and tripping Renji. The red-head fell to the ground, and Ichigo caught Rukia before her feet even touched the dirt.

"Leave her the hell alone!" he snapped. "If you want to pick on someone, you tattooed freak, pick on me." Ichigo was growling and his brown eyes were alight with anger as he placed Rukia behind him. Renji smirked, and the light from the porch reflected off of his sunglasses as he ran toward Ichigo. But before his fist could make contact with flesh, Renji's hand was grabbed by a third person.

The anger in Ichigo's eyes were replaced by fear as he saw Byakuya standing there, looking at him. His face was calm, showing no sign of emotion. Rukia stood two feet behind Ichigo, her eyes wide as she watched the scene unfold before her.

"Kurosaki."

The voice was just as void of emotion as the expression on his face. Ichigo clenched his eyes shut as Byakuya's voice echoed throughout the garden.

"This is your last chance. You have been caught in fight after fight with Abarai, and now I find you violating my sister right before she is to be married."

Ichigo's mouth moved to form words, but nothing came out. He finally just let his eyes fall to the ground.

Yuzu . . .

He had to remember her. And what could happen to her if he did anything.

"Nii-sama!" Rukia yelled, moving forward. She was stopped by Ichigo's arm, and she looked up, surprised, into his face. He was scowling again, and the anger and sadness inside of him seemed to flow around his body as his downcast eyes leveled with Byakuya's. He didn't speak for a second, but then said,

"Rukia, stay out of this. I will take whatever punishment is intended for me. Walk away. Walk away and don't look back. Ever."

Byakuya made a brief bow before the guards suddenly appeared before them.

"Take him away. He is to be given level three punishment for violating Princess Kuchiki before her marriage is to take place. After his punishment, he is to be sent to work in the fields."

And, without another word, Byakuya grabbed Rukia harshly by the arm and took her inside the house, not casting one look back at Ichigo, who was being hauled by three different guards.

A lone tear slipped down Rukia's face as she looked down at her feet, not glancing back as Ichigo screamed out into the night.

* * *

Ichigo forced himself not to scream as the whip came down upon his back again. He could feel the lashing of the leather against his skin, and he could feel his warm, thick blood flowing down his back as the whip made contact again and again.

"Yo, slave!"

Ichigo looked up to see a young man, grinning madly, staring down at him. The man had dark black hair and for some reason, had a large scar running down the side of his face. He was a guard that Ichigo didn't know too well, but he knew that the guard hated him.

"Kuchiki-sama told us level three punishment, but did ya know . . . this is level one."

He laughed as the whip made contact with Ichigo's skin again.

Ichigo knew that, of course. Level three barely ever even drew blood. He had been subjected to it several times before when working for Aizen, but he knew that, this time, level one was what he deserved. Byakuya had been kind when giving him level three; being found touching the princess in the way that he had could even earn you a death sentence if you were a simple slave.

Soon, he was thrown roughly back into the stall he had grown to know so well throughout his first week and a half here; before he was moved to the stables.

Laying there in the straw, with his blood pouring out of his back, Ichigo winced and tried to sit up. His back was stinging like fire and he wanted nothing more than to escape the pain. The physical pain . . . _and_ the emotional pain. He shouldn't have done that . . . he shouldn't have did that to Rukia. He shouldn't have told her how he felt, because now he had hurt her, too.

Rukia . . . walk away. Walk away and don't look back. Ever . . .

Ichigo finally made it to his knees. He held out his hands in front of him, and reached out to gently touch the cut on his hand. It was the cut he had given himself in order to put his print beside Rukia's on that rock.

He smiled despite the pain.

Just a few hours ago . . . it seemed like a lifetime.

It seemed like it was forever and forever ago that Rukia's soft lips had been upon his and her small, fragile hands had been tangled in his hair as she kissed him. Like him, it had been her first kiss, and neither of them had known quite what they had been doing . . . but still, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever experienced in his life.

With this to dwell on, Ichigo fell back into the straw and let sleep come over him.

* * *

"I thought more of you."

Those five simple words cut into Rukia like a sword. She looked down at her feet, slightly ashamed. Her brother was sitting across from her, holding a cup of tea that Yuzu had brought out to him only seconds before. Renji, who had followed Rukia and Byakuya into the house, was in the other room, having to have been led out by guards because he was still fuming over what he'd seen.

"Rukia, your marriage is to take place in two months. You are not to even _look_ at that slave again. If you are found with him, he will be either sold or sentenced to death. He is causing you pain and he violated you before your marriage."

Rukia, moving her eyes to look at Byakuya said,

"But, Nii-sama! I'm partly to blame! I didn't stop him!" she said, her violet eyes glowing with sadness.

"Why? Why didn't you?"

Rukia couldn't think of an answer. Her mouth moved to make words, but nothing came out. Finally, she answered truthfully.

"Because . . . Because I think I love him."

Her voice was quiet. She spoke slowly and clearly, not wanting to have to repeat herself. If Byakuya was shocked, he didn't show it. He simply stood to his feet and said,

"I see."

And then left the room.

Rukia stood, too, and walked out of the den before running up to her own room. Renji, who had been waiting for her to come out, tried to follow her, but she had slammed her door before he was even half-way up the stairs. She walked over to her bed and laid down, reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing her drawing pad. She had something she wanted to remember forever, and to sketch it into existence would be the only way it could live.

Slowly, her fingers stroked the pencil across the paper. A ghost of a smile came to her face as she began to draw him, scowling but still managing to smile, like he always did. Next, she began to sketch herself in, but soon found her fingers shaking and her eyes blinking away tears.

Unable to keep her fingers steady in order to draw, she put the pad of paper down on her desk and put her head in her hands.

Why did it have to be like this? Why did she have to ever meet Ichigo? If she hadn't . . . she would have probably been married and considered herself happy, but his words cut into her and reminded her that she could never be happy with someone she didn't love.

And as she laid down on her bed, facing away from the picture that she knew would never again come alive, she didn't cry. She held her tears in, and tried to forget about him.

But his face was already completely sketched, and his hands were tangled in her hair as he kissed her. The only thing completely missing from the picture . . .

. . . was her.

* * *

Well, there it is. And Ichigo didn't get hurt by her . . . but I'd say he's in a fair amount of pain. Whatcha think?

Please Review!


	8. These Feelings Of Love

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

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_Our prints in blood, I'll hold your hand. You fell, I smiled, I'll help you stand._

* * *

**Before The Rain — VIII**

Ichigo wiped sweat from his forehead and leaned forward, panting heavily as he rested his hands on his knees. He winced in pain when his back started aching again. The cuts on his back had began opening again that morning when he had started working, but he was trying to ignore the pain.

Closing his eyes, he stood straight up and grabbed the edges of his shirt, pulling it off over his head. It was soaked through with sweat and blood. He tossed it to the side before he began working again. None of the other workers spoke, and Ichigo could see that none were in quite as much pain as him, or they were hiding it. Ten minutes later, Ichigo was breathing so hard that he had to stop working and put his hands on his knees as he leaned over.

"Yo, slave!"

Ichigo winced involuntarily as one of the guards walked forward, a whip in his hands as he smirked. He was slapping the handle of the whip against his own fingers, and when he lashed it out, Ichigo screamed in pain. The leather hit against his skin hard and when it flew back, it was covered in blood. The whip had opened a few of the cuts that had actually begun to heal, and now he could barely even keep his balance.

"Get back to work, you lazy bum!" the guard yelled, and before Ichigo could react, the whip made contact with his skin again.

Ichigo prepared himself for the next hit. But it didn't come.

When he looked up, he saw a black haired boy standing over him. The slave was wearing glasses and a black sweater. He had a look of determination on his face as he stared at the guard.

"Leave him alone."

It was all the boy said, and it was all that needed said. The guard, having dealt with the boy before, yelled a few choice words before walking off. The boy then turned to Ichigo.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. But I could have taken care of that stupid idiot myself. You didn't need to do that," Ichigo grunted, pulling himself shakily to his feet. His whole body was shaking. The other boy raised an eyebrow and dug around in a bag that was sitting at the edge of the work area.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"This is the lunch bag that Inoue-san delivers for the workers each day. She added something extra this time, and I think you could use it."

He took out a ball of bandages, and soon, Ichigo was bandaged up from his waist to his neck. Ichigo, of course, insisted on doing it himself, so it was messy in some places and a small amount of blood was beginning to show through. But besides the stinging that was flying through his nerves from the soft cloth of the bandages touching his raw skin, he felt better.

"What's your name?" Ichigo asked, picking up his shovel and beginning to work again.

"Ishida. Ishida Uryuu."

* * *

Byakuya walked into his sisters room early the next morning. He found her laying on her bed, the clothes she was wearing the night before still on her small body. She was still sleeping on top of the blankets, and her hands clutched her pillow tightly.

Byakuya went over to her bedside table, reaching his hand out to turn on the light. But before he could reach the lamp, his eyes fell upon the picture that Rukia had been drawing the night before. In the picture, her face was still un-sketched. Ichigo's face was complete and his hair was as spiky as ever. His eyes were intense and smiling, though.

The elder Kuchiki was surprised by the picture. He didn't bother hiding his surprise as he turned the page on the drawing pad. The next picture was one of her more crude pictures. The ones she seemed to draw most of the time, and used to _always _draw until he had put her in art classes. Most of the pictures were the same, but the last one was ripped. The lower edge wase torn out, but he could guess what was there.

Turning the pad back to the picture that it had been on before he had started looking through it, he reached over and pulled a quilt over Rukia's small body. As he looked at her face, he could still see the tear tracks that floated gently down her pale face.

She had been crying last night?

Byakuya sighed sadly as he stared at his sister. Maybe an arranged marriage wasn't the best thing for her. He personally knew the man that it had been set up with . . . and . . . it wasn't that he wasn't a good man; he would do fine. But could Rukia ever learn to love him?

Probably not.

Ichimaru Gin - That man wasn't someone that he could imagine his sister loving.

Shaking his head, Byakuya turned to walk out of the room, but before he could reach the door, he heard his sister whisper something before turning around in her sleep.

"I-Ichigo . . . "

Byakuya walked out of the room, closing her door and leaning up against it.

What kind of pain was he causing his sister? Was he breaking his promise to Hisana by making his sister go through with something that hurt her so much?

What would Hisana think of him now?

* * *

By the end of the morning shift, Ichigo had changed the bandages on his back twice more, but the third wrapping wasn't even showing any blood, and it had been on for hours, so if he was lucky, his back had stopped bleeding.

After all the workers were offered water, they were thrown back into their stalls. The stalls were about five feet wide and five feet long. Not much room to sleep in, and you couldn't climb out because they were about seven feet tall and had barbed wire on the top. They were more like cages than stalls.

Dropping down into the straw, Ichigo pulled off his shoes and threw them and his blood-soaked shirt to the side. He wouldn't need either of them until later when he went out working again.

As he was about to sit up again because the straw was hurting his back, he saw a face looming above the door of his stall. He gasped when he realized who it was.

"Stand and come here," Byakuya said, motioning for Ichigo to walk forward.

Ichigo nodded and tried to stand to his feet, but fell down the first time. The second time, he was able to make it into a standing position and wobbled over to Byakuya. The older man noticed the bandages around Ichigo's chest and stomach.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, Kuchiki-sama. Someone hates me is all. He used the whip."

Byakuya looked slightly shocked.

"I said level three," he said slowly, looking around.

Ichigo winced and nearly fell over when a sharp, searing pain ran through his back. He wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, because the straw was rough and it would rub against his raw, torn skin all night. He was breathing hard, trying not to scream out from the pain. He could take short, sharp pains like being stabbed, but the constant, white-hot searing running through his nerves was too much.

"Are you alright?"

Ichigo couldn't answer. He just gasped sharply and his knees gave out beneath him.

_Stand up! I'm not this weak! I can stand, dammit!_

Ichigo staggered to his feet and leaned against the wall. Sweat was covering his forehead and he was having trouble breathing.

"Kuchiki, sir! Should I call Miss Rukia? She could heal this boy in minutes," one of the guards said, running up to Byakuya and bowing. The guard was one of the more kind ones, as Ichigo had found out, and was nicer to the slaves than the other ones.

"Hanatarō, yes, please call a healer. But not Rukia, if you can help it. Someone else."

"I'm not sure, sir. Most of the healers are gone on a mission, but I will try!"

The boy ran out of the stables and Byakuya opened the door to Ichigo's stall and walked in. He bent down beside Ichigo and frowned. They guards had beaten this boy severely and then put him to work right away. He was in too much pain to even speak. But, once again, Ichigo surprised Byakuya by forcing several words out from clenched teeth.

"Don't l-let R-Rukia see . . . . m-me like thi-"

He cut himself off as another sharp pain ran through his body. This time, he let himself scream.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Hanatarō came back. He had Rukia with him. Byakuya looked up in surprise.

"Hanatarō! Didn't I say bring another healer?" he asked in alarm. He moved so Rukia couldn't see Ichigo just yet. Rukia tried to look past him, but Byakuya wouldn't let her.

"I want to help, Nii-sama. Who is it?" Rukia asked, folding her arms in front of her jean skirt and trying to see part her brother again. Byakuya sighed, his face remaining expressionless.

"Hanatarō, you are _sure_ that no one else is available?"

The young boy nodded.

Byakuya moved to the side, and the second Rukia saw Ichigo, she gasped loudly.

"Ichigo . . ." she whispered, trailing off as she leaned down beside him. He opened his eyes for a brief second before hissing in pain again. "What happened, Ichigo?"

She sat down on the ground, reaching over and gently picking Ichigo's head up in her hands. Once his orange head was resting in her lap, she wiped away the tears that were suddenly falling down her face with the back of her hand. "This is going to hurt a little, Ichigo," she said, placing both her hands flat on his back. He flinched and cut off a scream by biting his lip.

A light green glow began to surround Ichigo, but it soon expanded to cover both her and him. Hanatar ō stood back and Byakuya did as well, as if somehow scared of the light.

Rukia closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting her power flow through her body and into his. She reached forward and removed the bandages, needing to see if she was healing him enough. She bit her lip when she saw the endless slashes covering his tan back. The skin was torn apart and he was was covered in both dry and fresh blood.

"R-Rukia . . ." Ichigo stuttered, his hands clenching into fists when her own fingers made contact to his flesh, not even having the bandages between their skin.

"Sorry, Ichigo. Just bare with me for a minute, OK?"

If he could have spoken as she pressed her hands harder to his skin, he would have. But it was taking everything he had not to break out screaming.

Suddenly, as Rukia closed her eyes again and focused all her strength on healing him, the normal green light around them turned red.

Hanatarō stood further back, and even Byakuya showed surprise as the red glow seemed to expand. He held a hand out in front of his face to shield the wind that had suddenly started blowing. White flames seemed to erupt inside the glow as Rukia screamed. But her screams weren't from pain, they were from surprise at what was happening. Her violet eyes shot open and she stared intensely as the skin on Ichigo's back fused back together quickly, even the scars from past injuries healing completely.

Then, everything stopped.

Hanatarō came closer and Byakuya ran over to his sister, who had fallen upon the ground. The slaves, who were watching with wide eyes around their stall doors, suddenly jumped away from the gaze of the prince as he grabbed his sisters hand when he saw a small, red glow still emitting from her fingers.

As he held her thin, pale hand in his own, his eyes widened as he stared at her thumb. There was a cut going from the bottom of the thumb to the top, and instead of the mark being only a line, as he had seen it last night, it now looked like a vine, with leaves and small, thin branches springing from the line and twirling around it. It was beautiful . . . but what surprised Byakuya most was that now the cut, that he had seen was inflicted only last night, was now fully healed and had become a scar in less that twenty hours. And it had expanded and was glowing. The scar was as bright a red as the light surrounding her while she was healing Ichigo.

Gently putting her hand down, Byakuya reached over to hold up Ichigo's hand. On his thumb, the exact scar was glowing brightly.

"What the hell?" Byakuya muttered.

"Ichigo . . ."

Byakuya looked down to see Rukia, her eyes half open, sitting up. She reached a shaky hand over and grasped Ichigo's in hers tightly. Her small soft hand contrasted to his greatly. His was large, rough and scarred while hers was small and soft. Her skin was pale while his was slightly tanned.

But it amazed Byakuya how well her hand fit in his.

". . .I love you," she whispered to him, her hand gripping his tighter.

And Rukia dropped down, exhausted. Her head was gently laying on his stomach and her raven hair was pooled out on his bare chest. Byakuya stood to his feet and looked around.

"Move Rukia back to the castle."

* * *

When Rukia woke up, she was laying in her bedroom. She sat up and looked around the room, surprised to see Renji sitting backward on a chair in the far corner. He was holding a knife in his hands and was carving at a small piece of wood. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Yo."

Rukia placed her hand to her head, as if the pressure would stop the pain in her temples. When she pulled her hand back, she noticed the scar on her thumb. Her eyes widened in surprise as she let her fingers dance over her skin.

Then, everything that had happened to her in the last few hours came crashing back. She gasped loudly and jumped out of her bed, still dressed in her skirt and sweater, and ran barefoot out of her room. She didn't even turn around when Renji yelled at her to come back.

She needed to see him . . . she needed to see Ichigo.

And she knew where he would be. When she had woke up a few hours ago and asked Byakuya where Ichigo was, her brother had told her that he would continue working in the fields, and he would be in South field that afternoon because the guards in the North field, the one he had worked on in the morning, were not treating him fairly.

Only a handful of workers, about twenty, worked in the South Fields. She was sure to find him quickly.

_She had something she needed to tell him . . . she had something she needed to do . . ._

Once she had pulled on her boots, she ran outside into the snow and began the trip to the South fields. Those fields were the closest, and it would only take her a small amount of time to travel there. But she wanted, _needed_, to see Ichigo.

Last night, before she had fallen to sleep, she had thought about Ichigo a lot, and if she really did love him or not. She believed that she did. She believed that, even though they had only met a little while ago, she loved him with all her heart.

He had showed her how he has felt about her when he had kissed her. He had shown her when his lips touched hers and he gently coaxed open her mouth to let him inside. He had shown her when he had ran his hands across her face and neck.

She loved how his hands felt. It was stupid, really, but she loved how they felt against her skin. His hands were rough and calloused, but when he placed his fingers on her face, it felt wonderful. She loved the feeling it created in her as he ran is hands across her neck and followed them with his lips.

He had shown her how he felt . . . and she wanted to show him how _she_ felt.

When she reached the fields, she stopped. She saw him. He was standing at the edge of the fields, not talking or even looking at the other slaves. He seemed tired, and she understood why. He had been put back to work only hours after being healed. And he was being forced to do extra because of the time he had lost while he was unconscious.

He saw her and he smiled.

She smiled back and waved a little, walking slowly to him. When she reached him, she didn't speak. She was nervous about what she was about to say.

"Does your brother know you're here?" he asked.

Rukia shook her head.

"What are you doing here?" he asked softly, putting his shovel down and walking closer to her.

Her heart began to beat faster and faster in her chest as he stared at her with his intense brown eyes.

"I came . . . I came to tell you something," she said, her voice steady, but her hands shaking. Ichigo looked around at the other workers in the field, then turned back to her.

"Come on, we can talk inside the stable. No one will notice that I'm gone."

He led her into a small, warm shed that was used for the work horses and the tools. It was slightly darker inside the shed than it was outside, but light filtered through the windows in the room.

"Rukia?" he asked, reaching out and placing his hand on her cheek. She shivered.

This shouldn't have been so hard; he had already told her how he felt . . . so why was she so nervous?

"Ichigo . . . I-I came her to tell you that I . . . that I love you," she said slowly, her eyes cast downward. Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, and he pulled his hand back.

Rukia was shaking slightly, both from the cold and from her fear. _Did he not feel the same? Why . . . why wasn't he saying anything?_

"Rukia . . ." Ichigo began slowly. She looked up, and was surprised by the gentle, yet intense, look on Ichigo's face. He said, "Would you . . ya know, hit me or anything if I kissed you right now?"

Rukia's heart was beating so fast that she was sure it was going to jump right out of her chest. She shook her head, unable to form words, and felt her knees shaking as he lowered his lips to hers. It felt as if an electric shock passed between them and Rukia moaned as Ichigo didn't waste anytime in deepening the kiss. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and tilted his head to get better access.

"We . . . we shouln't . . . your brother . . ." Ichigo muttered, pulling away for a second to breathe before kissing her again.

"Forget him."

"Yes ma'am."

Icihgo pressed his lips to hers and she moaned as his hands ventured to her waist, holding her close to him. Pulling back, he muttered,

"Damn, you're too short. Too hard to kiss ya."

Rukia would have kicked him if, at that moment, he hadn't started nibbling her ear. She made a purring noise in the back of her throat and Ichigo moaned as his lips trailed from her ear to her warm neck.

"Rukia . . . I gotta stop," Ichigo said, pulling back. His hands were still resting on her hips and her hands were still tangled in his hair. She was flushed and breathing hard, and Ichigo knew that if he didn't cut off physical contact with her, he would do something they both might regret. He continued, "I don't want to go too far, and I don't think I could stop myself if we go any further now."

She nodded in agreement and laid her head on his chest, still trying to catch her breath.

"I have to go now, Rukia," Ichigo said, pulling back. She untangled herself from his arms and stood back. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips before beginning to walk out. "Will I see you again?" he asked.

"Will you meet me somewhere tonight?" she asked, folding her hands in front of her.

Ichigo smirked.

She smiled and said, "Good. Meet me at the private stables at midnight, alright?"

Ichigo nodded and walked out of the barn, happy, for once in his life, to get back to his work.

* * *

Well, who, exactly, wants to kill me for making **Gin** the guy that Rukia has to marry? Hmm . . . everyone? Thought so.

**Please Review!**


	9. Under The Stars

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

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* * *

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Our prints in blood, I'll hold your hand. You fell, I smiled, I'll help you stand.

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**Before The Rain — IX**

"Rukia, where are you going?"

Rukia turned around and looked at Hinamori, who was laying down on a second bed in Rukia's room; she could have had her own room, but both she and Rukia asked to share because they hadn't seen each other in so long.

"I'm going outside."

"Uh . . . why?" Hinamori asked, sitting up in her bed and yawning, stretching her pink pajama arms over her head.

"I want to go watch the stars. I like to tell my mom when something happens in my life. And besides . . . I'm meeting someone," Rukia said, smiling softly. "Hina, can you keep a secret?"

Hinamori nodded happily, now partly awake. Rukia walked over and sat on the bed beside her, playing with her hands nervously in her lap, letting her fingers linger over the scar on her thumb as she began speaking to Hinamori.

"I'm going to meet Ichigo. Please, don't tell anyone, alright?"

Hinamori nodded. She said,

"You're meeting him? Does that mean you're not fighting anymore?"

Rukia smirked.

If only Hinamori knew.

"Yeah, we're not fighting anymore."

"Cool!"

"And _don't_ wait up for me, I won't tell you anything," Rukia said, pointing her finger at her cousin. Though she sounded strict, Hinamori could tell she was just playing around.

"I promise."

"Really?" Rukia asked, raising an eyebrow. Hinamori usually kept her word . . . but she seemed a little _too _interested in her and Ichigo.

"Yep. I promise. By the way . . . how did you make up?"

Rukia smirked again.

"I don't kiss and tell."

And she left a confused Hinamori alone in the room after she jumped out of her window. Hinamori, deep in thought, didn't understand that Rukia had said until almost twenty seconds later. Jumping out of her bed, her eyes wide, she ran over to the window to see Rukia on the ground below.

"He _kissed_ you?!" she yelled.

Rukia just stuck her tongue out at Hinamori and ran off.

* * *

Rukia, knowing that Ichigo would need help getting out, decided to drop by the slave stables to see Hanatarō before she went to her secret place. Slowly opening the door, she was quiet as she walked in, and she watched the hole in the ground to make sure her foot didn't catch in it.

She found the nervous, over jumpy guard cleaning the tool shed out. She raised an eyebrow; guards _never _worked.

"Hanatarō," she said. She wasn't at all surprised when he jumped nearly a foot and dropped his broom.

"Yes, Kuchiki-san?" he said, bowing quickly before grabbing his broom off of the ground; he dropped it the first time, but managed to grip it tightly in his hand the second.

"I need you to help me."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Don't be so tense. And all I need you to do is help Ichigo out of his stall at around eleven. Can you do that?"

Hanatarō, nodded, smiling now.

"Yes! Anything for you, Kuchiki-san."

"Please, call me Rukia."

"OK, Rukia-chan!" Hanatarō said. Rukia left him to his work as she crossed her arms behind her back and walked out to her special place.

The ground was covered in snow now, but she could still see the flowers poking their heads up through the white powder; they would die soon. She smiled sadly as she reached down and picked a single orange daisy and twirled it in her fingers. Walking forward, she began to try to leave as little footprints in the snow as possible. She didn't want to mess it up; it was too beautiful to scatter all around.

Looking up into the sky, she uttered a single sentence to the star she had given her mom.

"Mom . . . I'm in love, and it's exactly like you told me it would be."

* * *

By the time Ichigo had finished working, which was late at night, way after the sun had gone down, he was exhausted and he felt like going to sleep right there and then, but he wanted to meet Rukia. As he was led back to the slave stalls, he suddenly wondered exactly _how_ he was going to escape in the middle of the night. But his question was answered when a slightly jumpy Hanatarō walked up to him.

"Um . . . Kurosaki-kun?" he said, fiddling with his fingers.

Ichigo nearly jumped out of his skin. A freakin' guard was talking to a slave in a respective way! But then again . . . it was Hanataō, and most of the slaves really liked him, and he liked the slaves.

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked, turning around. He didn't bother being polite with most of the guards; they were either stupid to tell anyone higher up what he had done, or they were just looking for an excuse to beat him and didn't care about threatening his family.

"Rukia-chan wants me to help you out, so . . ." he trailed off and looked down at the ground.

Ichigo smiled. So _that_ was how he was going to get out.

"You know Rukia?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! She's really kind. And when I called her Kuchiki-san, she told me to call her Rukia instead. She's a lot nicer than I've always thought," Hanatarō said, reaching out to unlock Ichigo's stall. Once it was open, Ichigo stepped into the pathway between stalls and placed a hand on Hanatarō's shoulder.

"Thanks, Hanatarō. Also, do you know what time it is?"

He nodded and told Ichigo that it was about eleven, then closed Ichigo's stall door again. Ichigo ruffled his hair before slinking out of the barn. When he stepped into the fresh, crisp air, he breathed in deeply.

He had an hour before he had to meet Rukia . . . so, he might as well do something.

After figuring that vandalizing the tool shed would only get him in trouble, he squashed that idea and decided to just walk around in the night air. But as he began walking through a large field, he decided to pick Rukia some flowers. He mentally beat himself over the head for it; he never did anything like that for _anyone_. But he found himself smiling, which he did even less, as he picked a few of the bright orange flowers.

As he straightened to his feet, his eyes widened when he saw another figure in the middle of the field.

The person, who Ichigo was sure was a girl, had dark hair that was blowing around her face. Her skirt was blowing around in the night air and her hands were folded in front of her as her eyes gazed skyward. Ichigo let his eyes run over her figure as he walked slowly toward her. When he was close enough, he smiled as he realized that it was Rukia who was walking around. He let his smile grow as he walked toward her.

"Hey," he said quietly.

She turned around, her eyes wide as she stared at Ichigo. He reached his hand out and offered her the few flowers he had grabbed. She took them, letting her fingers wrap loosely around them. Neither spoke a word; they just stood and stared out at the moon and stars. After a few seconds, Rukia let her hand stray from her side and gently grab his.

"We weren't supposed to meet here," Rukia said quietly. Ichigo nodded, but didn't say a word, so Rukia continued. "Ichigo . . . do you love me, too?"

Her question surprised him, and he turned around so he was facing her. She had a slightly nervous look on her face as he smirked.

"Yeah, I do. I love ya, too," he said, gripping her hand tighter in his.

She smiled and leaned her head up against his arm.

"Ichigo, what's going to happen when . . . when I get married?"

He took a deep breath and looked Rukia in the eye. He said,

"Rukia, do you trust me?"

She nodded, her violet eyes staring deep into his without blinking.

"Do you really _actually_ love me?"

"Yes."

He noticed that she said it without hesitation. He smiled and reached out, placing his hand on her cheek and rubbing his thumb over her lips. She let her own hand wander up to cover his.

"Then marry me."

Rukia's eyes went even wider than before and her hand stopped moving on his. He didn't break their gaze as he waited for an answer. Rukia opened and closed her mouth a few times, but didn't speak. Finally, she managed to get a few words past her lips.

"I-I . . . Ichigo . . . "

He finally let his gaze drop. He smiled sadly as his hand fell from her face and landed back at his side.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "That was a stupid idea, I guess."

"No!" Rukia yelled, her voice echoing throughout the night. Realizing that she had shouted, she blushed a little and looked at the ground. "I-I mean . . . it wasn't a stupid idea, Ichigo. I just . . . my brother . . ."

Ichigo, seeing that she meant what she said, spoke softly.

"Forget about him. Forget about the arranged marriage, forget about everything. Do you want to be with me?" he asked her, his eyes once again traveling to meet hers as he reached his hand out and lifted her head so he could stare directly into her eyes. She didn't speak for a second; her eyes glanced back and forth as if she was searching for something in his gaze.

"But the arranged marriage has to happen. My brother said that it was all worked out and everything . . . and how could we? I mean-"

Ichigo cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. He kissed her briefly before pulling back.

"Forget about everything, Rukia. Forget about everything but us," he said, his voice only above a whisper. Finally, Rukia nodded.

"I love you, Ichigo. I-"

"Marry me, then," Ichigo mumbled, gently running his hands through her hair. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Yes."

He took her in his arms and held her tight under the beautiful shine of the moon. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, wanting the moment to last forever. But as the animals of the night began howling and the wind picked up, she began shivering from the cold as it nipped at her ankles and neck and face. Ichigo noticed and began rubbing the back of her neck to warm it up. She closed her eyes and let his hands run over her soft skin, and the warmth from his hands wasn't the only thing making her blood pump faster.

He smiled and soon he moved his hands to her face.

"Hey . . . Rukia, where do we go from here?" Ichigo mumbled, standing back from her a little. She shrugged, her hand gripping his tightly.

"I don't know. But wherever it is, I want it to be with you."

* * *

Byakuya sat in his room, his legs crossed under him as he stared at the picture of Hisana. Her hair and her eyes . . . they were exactly the same as in his dreams every night. Her smile was he most beautiful thing in the world, and he would give anything, _anything_, to see it again. He would give his life to see her again . . . if just for a few minutes.

"What should I do?" he asked quietly, letting his fingers run over the glass that his memories of her were encased in. "Rukia . . . she . . . I think she loves one of the stable boys. What should I do? She is to be married to Ichimaru Gin in two months because he is the highest in a noble family."

He sighed and took a deep breath, replacing the picture on the table.

"I don't know what to do. If I break tradition, I could be thrown from the throne. If I don't break tradition Rukia will be forced to marry a man she doesn't love."

Byakuya let out a ghost of a smile as he swore he could feel a hand on his shoulder.

"I married you because I loved you. Is it fair to make my sister marry someone she doesn't love?" he asked, standing to his feet. "I just don't know what to do. But Rukia slipped out her window an hour ago. What do you think the chances are she's going to meet that boy?"

Byakuya knew that if Hisana were here, she would be smiling.

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia just held each other for a good half hour before they moved from each other's arms. Rukia had her head laid on Ichigo's chest and he had his hands tangled in her hair as he held her tightly to him. They only sounds that they heard was the calm, soft breathing of each other. Finally, when the cold night air made them realize that they would need to leave soon, Ichigo pulled back from the embrace and smiled softly at Rukia.

"Ya know, you're the only girl that's ever made me want to smile all the time when I'm around you. I mean . . . I was like that with my mom, but never since. I don't smile much, at all, but when I'm around you . . . it makes my heart beat faster and I feel like I can't keep the smile off of my face."

Rukia smiled, too.

"And you're the person who made the rain in my heart go away."

They both fell silent for a minute, before Ichigo said,

"Hey, Rukia, why did you want to meet me tonight?"

Rukia blushed a little and clasped her hands together behind her back as Ichigo reached out to tuck one of the flowers he had given her behind her ear. She shrugged.

"I just wanted to talk to you. I felt like I needed to tell you who I my marriage is going to be to. I-I found out today; Nii-sama didn't even give me the promised time to choose someone myself. As soon as he made the deal with one of the other noble families . . . he - he didn't give me a chance."

Ichigo's eyes fell toward the ground as Rukia spoke.

"Um . . . who is it?" he asked, his gaze trying to bore into the soft, cold snow he could barely see.

"Someone named Ichimaru Gin. He is a friend of Aizen-sama," Rukia said, her gaze following Ichigo's to the ground.

Ichigo's head snapped up. As Rukia gasped quietly, he clenched his fists tightly.

"What?!" he yelled, frightening Rukia a little. She backed up a step, and when Ichigo saw this, he lowered his voice and moved closer to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you . . . do you know him?" Rukia whispered, crossing her right arm over her stomach and gripping her left tightly.

"Yeah. He's a real ass. God, your freakin' brother can't make you marry him!" Ichigo exploded, not able to hold his emotions in any longer. "I won't let you!"

"Ichigo . . . don't try to stop my brother; he could kill you. Please, just stay out of it. I'll try and stop them, but if you get involved . . . I don't want you to di-"

She was cut off as Ichigo kissed her again. When he pulled back, here eyes went wide at the look of determination on his face.

"I will _not_ let you marry that man; he'll use you and he will never love you like . . . like _I_ do," Ichigo said, his hands clasped tightly at his side. "I would rather die than see you marry such a man and be treated like your not worth anything. And you are worth way more than that; you're worth the world. Besides, you said you'd marry me."

Rukia smiled softly and laid her head on Ichigo's chest as he pulled her into his arms again.

"Thank you, Ichigo," she said, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply of his scent.

And, as they embraced under the stars and the moon, their mothers smiled down on them.

* * *

That's all folks! I worked hard on this, and I hope to get some feedback. So, until the next chapter . . . have fun and . . .

**Please Review!**


	10. Letting Go

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

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If you slip . . . I'll catch you. And if you fall, I'll help you stand. Trust me . . . Trust me, and let go . . .

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**Before The Rain — X**

Rukia quietly opened the door to her house, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw her brother sitting in the chair in the living room directly in front of the door. He was sipping a cup of tea, and he looked like he had been sitting there for quite some time. Rukia stepped inside and, after pulling her snow-covered boots off, walked into the living room, her cheeks still bright red from the cold.

"Hello, um, Nii-sama . . ." she said slowly. She sat down on the chair opposite to him when he motioned for her to.

"What, pray tell, were you doing outside at two O'clock in the morning?"

_Oops_. She hadn't realized that she had been with Ichigo that long.

"I-I was . . . I was . . ."

But she was unable to form words. Her mouth opened and closed a few more times before Byakuya answered for her.

"You were with him."

It was a statement, not a question.

Rukia just nodded, biting her lip and folding her hands in her lap as she looked down at the ground. Byakuya took a deep breath, and was about to speak again when suddenly Rukia found her voice and blurted out,

"I love him!"

Byakuya was surprised, and showed it a little as he watched his sister blush deeply. She spoke more softly after that.

"I love him, Nii-sama, I know I do. I don't want to get married, either. I don't want my life decided for me by other people. I want to make my own choices and decide on my own who I love and who I don't. And . . . and . . ." she trailed off and bit her lip again, wondering if she should tell her brother of Ichigo's asking her to marry him. He had been serious about it, as he had shown her somewhere past midnight when he had kissed her so passionatley that she had lost all sense of reason and would have went further if Ichigo hadn't stopped them again. Finally, she decided to tell Byakuya. "And I know that it probably can't ever happen . . . but . . . Ichigo asked me if I would marry him."

This time, Byakuya showed his surprise by dropping his tea cup. The liquid inside the cup spilled out all over the white carpet. Rukia winced and wound her fingers together as she bit her lip harder.

She drew blood she bit so hard.

"What did you say in response?" Byakuya said calmly, reaching down to pick up his cup once he was past his initial surprise.

"I told him yes," Rukia said firmly, her voice not shaking this time as she stared into her brothers eyes. He had once again put up his emotionless mask, and she couldn't read his expressions. Instead, he stood to his feet and said,

"Go to your room. We will talk tomorrow."

And he walked out, leaving Rukia alone.

She started shaking as she walked back up the stairs and into her bedroom. As she lay down on her bed, she let her fingers linger on her lips; she could still feel Ichigo's lips on he own after nearly an hour. It wasn't a feeling she would easily forget. When he kissed her, he was soft, yet demanding and passionate at the same time. This mix of emotions always left her breathless and a little more than slightly flushed. Whenever he pulled back, she could barely breathe, so when he had reached his hands under her shirt and caressed the soft skin of her stomach and back, she was sure she was going to explode from everything she was feeling.

Then, he had stopped. She hadn't wanted him to; she wanted him to continue, but he told her that he wouldn't be able to stop if he didn't stop then, and it was the second time in two days that they had nearly gotten carried away.

Dropping her hand back to her side, Rukia climbed under her quilt, not bothering to change into her bed clothes, and fell to sleep easily, dreaming of a better life where there wasn't pain and suffering.

Only love.

* * *

"Rukia! Wake up!"

Rukia groaned and rolled over in her bed, pulling her pillow over her head to try and keep out the voice of her over-happy cousin.

"Come _on_, Rukia, there's someone waiting outside the window for you!"

Rukia sighed and threw off her quilt before walking over to the window. She half groaned, half smiled when she saw Renji standing on the ground, his red hair a mess in his usual red pony-tail. When he saw her, he frowned.

"You look like crap."

"Stuff it, will ya?" she said, frowning. "Go away. I'll be down in a bit; I have to change."

Renji shrugged and walked off, and Rukia turned back inside and began changing out of her clothes from the night before to replace them with a light brown skirt and a pink sweater. After pulling on a pair of thick socks, she sat down on her bed and let Hinamori do her hair.

"So, how did your _meeting_ go last night?" she asked, a happy edge to her voice. Rukia rolled her eyes, but found a smile coming to her face, anyway.

"Well . . . I had fun," Rukia said simply, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of her face; it fell right back.

"Did he kiss you?"

Rukia raised an eyebrow at her cousin, but nodded anyway.

"Has Hitsugaya-kun kissed _you_?" Rukia asked, feeling it only fair that if Hinamori got to poke her about something, then she would poke back. Hinamri turned bright pink.

"Yes, but we're not talking about me here," she said quickly. "What was it like?"

Rukia sighed. She was never one for girl talk, but she didn't have anyone else to talk about Ichigo with. So, she decided, what the heck?

"He's really gentle. He makes me feel . . . alive," Rukia said, reaching up to twist the stubborn piece of hair in her face between her fingers. "This might sound stupid, but I love his hands." Rukia blushed as she said the last sentence.

"Nope! Not stupid at all," Hinamori said, finishing with Rukia's hair. Rukia stood to her feet and began walking to the door. Hinamori said softly, "Did he really ask you to marry him?"

Rukia stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"You heard me talking with Nii-sama?" she asked. Hinamori nodded.

"I didn't mean to listen . . . but I was out in the bathroom, and I heard you come in . . . and curiosity got the better of me, I guess. So did he?"

Rukia smiled gently.

"Yeah."

"And?" Hinamori said, following Rukia as they walked out the door.

"I said I would. But I don't know how it will ever happen."

"You'll find a way, I know you will. At least . . . you're thickheaded enough to find a way!" Hinamori said, whooping happily as they walked down the stairs, pulled their boots, hats and gloves on before walking outside. Rukia met Renji at the gate to the house, and, before opening it, asked,

"What are you doing here?"

Renji smirked.

"What a way to greet your friend. Can't I just visit?"

Rukia shook her head. "You _could_, but you never do," she pointed out. Renji shrugged. He then asked to speak to Rukia in private and Hinamori nodded, walking off and leaving them alone.

"Renji . . . what are you _really_ here for?"

Renji's smile dropped.

"I wanted to ask you to reconsider what I said. I - I love you Rukia, and I would like to ask you to marry me, because if you say no, you will end up marrying someone you don't know, and . . . and wouldn't it be better to marry someone who loves you? Besides . . . over time, couldn't you learn to love me, too?"

Rukia smiled sadly.

"No, I don't think I could, Renji. I really don't. You're a good friend, but besides that . . . I'm sorry, I really am."

Renji didn't speak for a moment, but when his eyes came up to meet hers, Rukia nearly gasped at the anger in them.

"It's because of _him_ isn't it?" he growled, his hands clenched into fists. Rukia stepped back a little, glad now that she hadn't opened the front gate. Within seconds, the overwhelming anger that had built up inside of him was gone. He said, "It is, isn't it?"

He asked his question more forcefully this time, and Rukia backed away even more. She said,

"Renji . . . it's not because of him."

"Don't freakin' tell me that he hasn't been kissing ya! He's been making you believe lies; dammit; he's a slave!"

"He's not a _slave_, he's just like you and me and I love him!"

Renji stepped back, a little shocked at her outburst. She watched the emotions filter across his face; he finally settled on surprise and anger.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"I _love_ him, Renji, and nothing will change that," Rukia said, her voice shaking now. "I love him."

And with that, she threw open the gate and ran past him, not stopping to look back as he yelled after her to come back. She didn't stop when she heard Hinamori's voice joining Renji's, and she didn't stop when she heard them beginning to run after her. She needed to warn Ichigo; now that Renji knew that she loved Ichigo, he would go after him.

When she reached the slave stable, she immediately ran over to his stall. Today, most of the slaves didn't work in the morning or the afternoon because the few that were working were bringing large equipment to the fields and some people had died getting in the way of them. So, if Ichigo wasn't one of the few working, she could find him easily.

When she did find him, he was standing in his stall, talking to Byakuya, who was standing outside. Quickly ducking behind a large slab of wood, she quietened her breathing and just listened. Her brother couldn't have gotten there long ago; he had been in the house when she had left, and if he had walked out of another entrance the second she went outside, he could have been here for a max of ten minutes.

"Kurosaki, I was awake when my sister slipped outside last night."

Rukia gasped quietly. Why was her brother talking to Ichigo about this? Why not to _her_?

"Kuchiki-sama . . . I - I asked her to meet me last night; please don't give her trouble."

Rukia frowned. _She_ had asked to meet _him_ last night.

"Why?" Byakuya asked, not moving from his spot in front of Ichigo's stall. When Ichigo didn't answer, Byakuya said, "Am I to understand that you asked for my sisters hand in marriage last night?"

To Rukia, now, it sounded rather crazy, a slave asking a noble to marry him, but Ichigo didn't outright answer Byakuya's question. Instead, he said,

"I love her."

It was a simple answer, but held much more than any other words could.

"I want my sisters happiness, but you realize that this can never happen?" Byakuya said, his eyes gazing deeply into Ichigo's. Then, Ichigo said two simple words.

"Why not?"

The force and determination in his voice sent shivers down her spine.

Byakuya said, "A noble cannot marry a slave. She has to marry one of the princes from the other noble families. If . . ._ if_ she could marry another, I would let her, because she seems actually happy with you."

Ichigo nodded, looking to the ground.

"I see. But I still love her and that'll never go away. And . . . Rukia, you can come out," Ichigo said softly, a small smile gracing his lips as Byakuya turned around to see Rukia standing from her position behind the board of wood. She smiled, a slight blush covering her cheeks.

"H-hello, Ichigo, Nii-sama," she said, bowing quickly to her brother.

"How long have you been there?" Byakuya asked. Ichigo answered for her.

"About three minutes. I saw her coming in," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

They were all three silent for a few minutes, then Byakuya spoke.

"I shall leave you alone."

And then he left. As he walked out the stable door, Ichigo let his gaze fall to the ground again. Rukia shuffled her feet back and forth on the ground, then looked up into Ichigo's eyes.

"Hey, Rukia, how come you haven't been riding your horse lately? You used to ride her everyday," Ichigo asked, crossing his arms and leaning them on top of the stall door.

"She . . . um, she fell ill a few days ago and had to be put down. I-I didn't find out until yesterday, but I didn't want to bother you about it . . . and . . ."

Rukia was fighting to hold back tears. Her horse, Morning Glory, had been hers since she was four; she had been a gift from her mother, and Rukia wasn't quite ready to believe that she was dead. It hadn't sunk in yet.

"Well . . . can you let me out of here? I have something I want to show you," he said, motioning to the lock about a foot below where he could reach.

Rukia quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking, then undid the lock and Ichigo walked out.

Then, hand-in-hand, they ran from the stable and outside into the cold, December air. They didn't stop running until Rukia saw that they were within sight of the private stables. She began to slow down, and Ichigo turned to her.

"It's OK," he said, reaching over and kissing her gently on the lips. She smiled and gripped his hand tighter in hers as they walked inside the barn. She looked around, only to see that Morning Glory's stall was, indeed, empty. Ichigo tugged gently on her hand and led her into the inside ring where the horses walked and ran around when it was too cold to go outside or it was raining.

Rukia let go of his hand when she saw the beautiful, pure white horse in the middle of the room. Everything about her was white; her soft, beautiful fur coat, her mane, even her hooves. But on her head, right between her eyes, was a small, black, crescent moon shape. Rukia's eyes were wide as she walked around the horse, gently petting her. Ichigo stuffed his cold hands into his pockets and leaned up against the wall, breathing in deeply as he watched her.

Finally, she walked back over.

"She's beautiful," Rukia said, smiling. "Where did she come from, though? I've never seen her before."

"Ah. Well, I found her out in the woods one day when it had begun to snow. I've had her in here for about a week and a half. But since I was moved, I haven't been able to feed her and such, so I had Hanatarō do it for me; he was more than happy to. And Rukia?"

"Hm?" she asked.

"Ah . . . I was going to give her to you. And she needs a name."

Rukia's eyes went wide and she hugged Ichigo quickly.

"Really? She's mine?"

Ichigo felt a smile coming to his face as he watched her eyes glow with happiness. He nodded.

"Yeah. She's yours."

"I know what I want to name her," Rukia said, walking back over to the horse and petting her nose. "I want to name her _Sode no Shirayuki_. It means "Sleeve of White Snow"."

Suddenly, as soon as the words were out of Rukia's mouth, Ichigo grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up onto the horse. She squealed as she flew through the air, but smiled when Ichigo climbed up behind her.

"Let's go for a ride," he said, leaning into her back and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"But she's not saddled and she doesn't have reigns," Rukia pointed out, leaning frantically back into Ichigo as he gave the horse a gentle poke to start walking. Sode no Shirayuki began gently trotting out of the stable, and as she realized they were in no trouble, even though Ichigo couldn't control the horse well, Rukia began to relax a little, and leaned forward on her horse, gripping Sode no Shirayuki gently around the neck.

Ichigo just closed his eyes and let the wind flow through his hair as they got out into the snow and the horse began running. His grip around Rukia's waist tightened as Sode no Shirayuki began running faster, and Rukia once again became a little frightened. Ichigo leaned over and muttered in her ear,

"If you slip, I'll catch you. And, well, if you fall, I'll be there to help you stand."

Rukia took a deep breath, leaning back into him, but not letting her grip on the horse go.

"Just let go. Trust me," Ichigo whispered. "I'll catch you."

Rukia smiled and let go.

"I trust you."

* * *

Sorry if this chapter was a bit jumpy!

**Please Review!**


	11. Inside My Heart

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

* * *

_If you slip . . . I'll catch you. And if you fall, I'll help you stand. Trust me . . . Trust me, and let go . . ._

* * *

**Before The Rain — XI**

Ichigo smiled, letting his grip on Rukia loosen as they flew though the fields. The wind was blowing through their hair, and the snowflakes that flew from the trees were swirling around them in beautiful patterns. Rukia, who was leaning back into Ichigo as they rode along, sighed and breathed in the fresh air.

"Hey, Ichigo, the reason I came to see you today was to warn you."

"Huh? Warn me? Of what?" Ichigo asked, ducking as Sode no Shirayuki ran under a tree. He placed his arm on Rukia's head and made her duck, too.

"Renji. He . . . he says that he loves me, and he thinks the reason that I don't love him is because of you. And . . . well, Renji doesn't let that kind of thing go easily, so I just wanted to . . ."

Rukia was cut off as Ichigo placed his fingers over her lips.

"Shh. I'll be fine; I promise. OK?"

Rukia sighed, biting her lip, then nodded.

"Good. Now, enjoy the ride and don't concern yourself with my problems, alright?"

Rukia nodded again and, taking Ichigo's advice, let all of her fears and troubles fly out into the wind that so gently lapped at her face and skin.

* * *

"Yes, he is," Ichigo insisted, smirking at Rukia. She glared at him.

"No, he's not!"

"Yeah, he is."

"No, he's not!"

"Rukia! come on, your brother is_ insane_! Admit it! He wears freakin' _hair noodles_!"

Rukia began laughing, and Ichigo had to grab her around the waist to stop her from falling off of the horse. Ichigo raised an eyebrow as Rukia turned around and poked him in the chest.

"Those are _kenseikan_ and are worn by the noble families."

"So . . . why don't _you_ wear stupid hair noodles?" Ichigo asked, poking her back. She bit his finger, making him squeal and pull it away.

"They're _not_ stupid and I don't wear them because I am not next in line for the throne."

Ichigo shrugged, muttered something under his breath about stupid hair noodles, and rubbed his sore stomach, which Rukia was the cause of, all the way back to the stables.

Pressing his knees tightly into Sode no Shirayuki to stop her as they approached the outside of the barn again, Ichigo jumped off. Rukia was smiling brightly, and her dark hair was a mess from the harsh, unforgiving wind. After he had helped her off of the horse, he led Sode no Shirayuki into the barn and put her in Morning Glory's stall.

"Hey, Ichigo . . . I was . . . um, thinking about something you said to my brother earlier."

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked, turning around.

"Why not?"

Ichigo tilted his head to the side, smirking.

"Hey, Rukia, if we, ya know, _really_ could get married, would you change your mind?" he asked, his eyes staring into hers, not giving her a chance to look away.

"I don't know about marriage right away, but if I could stay with you, then yeah, I would want to," she said, smiling and reaching out to take his hand. She said, "Hey, Ichigo, it's getting dark; you know that, right? We were out for many hours today."

"Yeah, I know. But honestly, I don't care. I didn't have to work today, so who is going to complain?"

" . . . "

"Thought so," Ichigo said, a triumphant look on his face as he closed the stall door, and out of habit, began walking around the others to lock and re-check them. Rukia followed behind him.

He eventually walked over to the door, intent on closing it, when he slipped on the cold ice an fell flat on his butt. He yelped and jumped up quickly, knocking ice chips off of his jeans hurridely.

Rukia shook her head, an amused smile coming to her face a she walked forward a little and wrapped her arms around him. He let his eyes wander to hers, and their gaze locked as he pulled her tighter against him.

She was still resting in Ichigo's arms, and he was still staring down at her when she wasn't paying attention to the slick ice on most of the floor within ten feet of the door that Ichigo had _just_ slipped on, so when she lost her balance and fell backward, she screamed loudly.

She clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the hard landing she knew was coming; but it didn't. And when she forced her eyes open, she gasped quietly when she saw Ichigo's face only inches from hers.

He had caught her around the waist before she had even neared the ground.

"Ichigo . . ."

He smiled.

"I told you I'd catch you."

She felt her heart beat faster and faster as she stared into his intense brown eyes, and soon she couldn't stop herself from leaning her head up two inches and closing the gap between them with a kiss. Ichigo responded hungrily by pushing his tongue into her mouth and pulling her up straight to where she was standing on her feet. She moaned loudly when he brought his hands to grip her waist and kissed her harder.

When he pulled back, he could see the desire in her eyes and quickly crushed his lips to hers again. His lips soon left her mouth and trailed down her neck. She let out a gasp of pain when he gently bit her neck, leaving behind a small, red spot. Her pain was quickly replaced by a feeling of pleasure as Ichigo began sucking on her skin.

"R-Rukia . . . " Ichigo murmured, pulling back. He noticed that her eyes looked glazed and her cheeks were flushed bright red. "Don't wanna . . . get carried . . . away . . ." he said in between kisses, but unable to pull himself from her.

"Don't . . . care . . ." Rukia said breathlessly; all she wanted was for Ichigo to touch her in different places. She wanted to let him hold her and touch her in any way he wanted. "I . . . I want you . . ."

Ichigo pulled back completely for a second, his eyes searching hers.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice a whisper. She leaned up and gently pressed her lips to his, giving him all the answer he needed. Ichigo placed his hands on her face and tilted it to the side, deepening the kiss.

Clothes were quickly shed as Ichigo led Rukia up to the warm loft; heaters were installed in there to keep the horses warm from above.

"I-Ichigo . . ." Rukia murmured softly, gasping as he ran his hands over her soft skin.

"Rukia . . . you sure?" he asked again, his lips leaving a trail of kisses down her collarbone.

"Yes," she said, groaning in passion as he began to gently stroke her thigh.

"This might hurt," he said, biting his lip before he placed his mouth over hers to muffle any sound she might make as he slid slowly inside of her.

And once the pain had past, it was the most wonderful thing she had ever felt.

* * *

Rukia woke the next morning to the sun filtering through the windows. She groaned and rolled over, only to find the cold biting her skin. She decided to jump back under the thick quilt seconds later, and snuggled up to the warm body next to her. When she turned her head around and saw Ichigo, sleeping, and naked, the memories of last night began to assault her senses and feelings.

Ichigo had made her feel wonderful last night. He had kissed her and touched her in ways she never thought was possible. And then . . . he had made her complete.

Snuggling up to Ichigo, she sighed happily when his arms came around her.

"Morning, Rukia."

Rukia looked up into his eyes when she heard his husky voice. He was smiling.

"Morning," she said back, resting her head on his chest.

"You OK?" he asked, his voice quiet as he took her hand in his. She knew what he was asking about; she had been in a lot of pain last night before she had gotten used to him inside of her, and he had hated every moment of it.

She nodded and sat up, pulling the quilt tightly around her body as she looked around.

"We should get dressed," Rukia said, standing up and letting the blanket fall away as she began to collect her clothes from the floor. Ichigo's eyes followed her around the room as she pulled on her panties and skirt, followed by her bra and sweater. After she was dressed, she grabbed all of his clothes and, smirking, threw them at him.

"Come on, hurry. I'm in enough trouble as it is for being out all night."

Ichigo smiled like an idiot as he quickly clambered to his feet and pulled on his clothes, following Rukia out of the loft. She had barely began to climb out the ladder when he grabbed her by the waist and jumped to the floor fifteen feet below. She shrieked loudly, but when she landed safely on the ground, in Ichigo's arms, she smiled. When they looked around, however, their eyes went wide when they saw who was waiting for them.

Renji.

Rukia gasped and backed away a little; the look of anger in her friends eyes was so intense that it sent shivers throughout her whole body. Ichigo stepped in front of her, and returned Renji's glare with one of his own. Rukia, behind him, began to protest to his protecting her, but one look from him shut her up and she decided to take the chance given to her and hide behind him.

"What the hell were you doing out all night, Rukia?" Renji said, walking over and trying to push Ichigo out of the way. Ichigo didn't budge, however, and his glare intensified.

"I-I was . . ."

"Ah, save it. I know what the hell you were doing. This . . . this _slave_ took away your virginity, that's what!" Renji yelled, no shame in what he was saying. "Did he force you?" Renji asked, coming closer. Ichigo clenched his fists, but didn't speak. Rukia needed to answer this one on her own, or else _she_ wouldn't know how she felt.

"No! He didn't force me!" Rukia yelled, clinging to Ichigo's arm, but still hiding behind his back.

She was afraid. She was actually _afraid_ of someone who called her friend. Of someone who told her he loved her.

"He forced ya to say that, didn't he? Because the Rukia _I_ knew would _never_ let a slave do something like that!" Renji roared, catching Ichigo off-guard and clubbing him in the chin.

Ichigo rocked to the side, his hand going up to hold his now probably-broken jaw. He could feel the blood in his mouth, and as he leaned over and spit it out onto the ground, he was surprised at the amount f blood there actually was. That bastard sure packed a hard punch.

Spitting the remainder of blood out, Ichigo wiped his mouth off and ran over to Renji before he could touch Rukia. He grabbed the red-head by the arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing him close to the ground before sticking his knee in Renji's back and holding him to there.

"Rukia, get away from here! I don't want you to see this if it gets worse," Ichigo said, his teeth clenched in determination as he tried to hold Renji to the ground.

As he got loose, Ichigo yelled,

"Rukia! Run, now!"

Rukia, not sure of what to do, began running out of the stable, only to stop when she saw Ichigo's eyes widen as he began slowly falling to the ground.

He had been hit in the stomach with a pitchfork. Renji had grabbed the tool from the other side of the room the second he had gotten free, and while Ichigo was focused on yelling at Rukia to run, Renji had plunged the deadly weapon into Ichigo's abdomen.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, turning around to run back to him. Before she could take two steps, however, she was grabbed forcefully by the shoulder and held firmly in place.

She looked up to see her brother, Byakuya, standing there. As always, he held no emotion on his face as he held her from running to Ichigo.

"No! Nii-sama, let me go!" Tears were falling from her eyes as she struggled in his grip to get to Ichigo, who had fallen to his knees, the pitchfork embedded deeply in his flesh. "No! Let me go, let me go! Ichigo!"

Renji turned to stare at her, his hand pulling the pitchfork from Ichigo's stomach. Rukia watched in horror as Ichigo collapsed on the ground, his blood beginning to pool around him.

"No . . ." Rukia trailed off as she went limp in Byakuya's grip and fell to her knees, leaving Byakuya only holding her arm. "No . . . Ichigo!"

"Why do you care so much about this freakin' boy? Huh? Why the hell do you _care_ if he dies?!" Renji yelled, throwing the pitchfork away and beginning to advance on Rukia. She didn't pay attention, she didn't even see him. "_Why_?"

Renji had barely moved five feet before he was stopped. He looked down to see Ichigo, gasping for breath and wiping blood away from his mouth, holding tightly to his jeans.

"Don't . . . _touch_ . . . her, or I'll kill you," he growled, coughing up blood as he spoke. Renji's eyes went wide then, yelling, kicked Ichigo's hand away.

"Don't touch me, slave!"

Ichigo stood to his feet, still shaking, and leaned up against Sode no Shirayuki's stall. His breaths were ragged and broken, but as he held out his hand and pointed a finger in Renji's direction, the look on his face was certain. It was anger, and it was determination. "I'll _kill_ you."

Rukia, hearing Ichigo's voice, looked up, tears still slowly trailing down her pale skin. Ichigo looked over at her and smiled bravely, wiping blood away from his mouth.

"Hey, d-don't cry, Rukia. I hate seeing y-you sad," he said. As soon as he had uttered the words, he bent over, clutching his stomach. Rukia yelled out again, finally breaking free of her brother's grip; he had let his hold on her become loose.

She ran over to Ichigo just as he was falling and caught him, slowly lowering his body to the ground.

Rukia bit back a sob as she brushed her fingers through Ichigo's hair. She smiled sadly as he looked up at her, his brown eyes having lost the glow they usually carried.

"Don't . . . c-cry . . . " he stuttered, wincing.

"Get away from that bloody slave!" Renji yelled, walking over and kicking Rukia away from Ichigo's body. Byakuya stepped in here and stood in front of his sister.

"She has done nothing to you," he said, giving Renji a glare that would kill a lesser man.

Renji didn't pay attention to him for long, but when he had turned back to Ichigo, the orange-haired teenager was standing, shakily, on his feet.

"I said I'd kill you, if you touched her!" he yelled, closing his eyes.

When he opened them, his eyes had suddenly exploded in a bright, blinding red, and the scar on his thumb was the same color. Renji gasped, stepping back as the glow expanded to cover his whole body. And as soon as it had come, it was gone. The glow receded to only Ichigo's eyes and thumb, and as Byakuya looked at his sisters finger, the same scar was glowing the same color.

"I'll kill you."

Ichigo's voice, usually rough, but in a soft way, was suddenly scratchy and deep, as if it was distorted somehow.

"What the hell?" Renji yelled, backing up a little. "You're dead! Dying! How the hell are you moving?!"

Rukia, who was standing a good ways away, was staring at her thumb, gently letting her other fingers dance over the scar. She whispered; "He healed himself."

Ichigo started after Renji, no longer shaking or limping; and you could see the determination in his eyes to kill.

"I let you bastards take my mom away, but I'll kill you before I'll let you touch Rukia again!" Ichigo roared. Only, it wasn't him. As he had began advancing on Renji, his eyes had gone a deeper shade of red and his voice was sounding worse and worse.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, desperation in her voice as she broke away from Byakuya again and ran up behind Ichigo, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Please, stop, Ichigo . . ."

He froze in her grip, but he didn't stop glaring at Renji, who was currently reaching out for the pitchfork again.

"Ichigo! Please, leave him alone!"

"Why? Why should I?" he yelled back. Rukia winced at the voice she was hearing.

"This isn't you! Please, Ichigo! Come back to me, come back! I love you!"

Slowly the glow in Ichigo's eyes began to fade, and the scars on both of their thumbs dulled in color, but didn't completely disappear. When the light in Ichigo's eyes was completely gone, he went limp in Rukia's grasp, and he fell against her, his eyes drifting shut as she lowered him gently to the ground.

Renji, who was on the other side of the room, put down the pitchfork, but didn't come closer.

Rukia wept quietly as she hugged Ichigo tightly to her. Byakuya walked slowly over and tried to take Ichigo's limp form from her, but she hung on.

"No! Leave him alone, Nii-sama, he didn't do anything wrong, he didn't do anything. Please . . ."

"Let me have him; I will carry him home."

Rukia looked up in surprise, her violet eyes meeting her brothers. She reached a hand up and wiped the rest of her tears away. "Nii-sama . . ."

He didn't speak again, he just gently lifted Ichigo's form from Rukia's arms and held him under the arms and knees. Rukia stood up next to he brother, reaching out and grabbing Ichigo's hand as they walked from the barn. Byakuya stopped at the door and spoke back to Renji,

"I didn't interfere, because this was a fight for pride. But _never_ hurt my sister again, or _I_ will kill you."

Renji didn't respond as they continued walking. He only wiped sweat from his face and sat down on the ground, putting his head in his hands.

He had hurt Rukia in his anger. In more than one way. He had made her cry, because he had hurt the slave. He had been willing to hurt her physically by kicking her out of the way to get to Ichigo. In his anger, he hadn't seen the pain he was causing her as she cried for he boy he hated so much. In his anger, though, he had seen that she really did love Ichigo.

And not him.

_Never him._

* * *

Wow! That took a while to write! _(Jaw Drops)_ Might not seem long to you, but I worked on this for several hours during the day; whenever I had time.

**Please Review!**


	12. What I Never Said

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

* * *

_If you slip . . . I'll catch you. And if you fall, I'll help you stand. Trust me. Trust me, and let go . . ._

* * *

**Before The Rain — XII**

Rukia blinked her eyes a few times before lifting her head off of the dark blue blanket that was currently covering Ichigo. Yawning loudly and stretching her arms over her head, Rukia smiled when she reached out to grip Ichigo's hand again. He still had yet to wake up after his fight with Renji, and she had been sitting at his bedside for almost six hours now; she hadn't left once.

"Hey, Ichigo, when are you going to wake up?" Rukia said softly, reaching out her free hand to gently touch his face. Her violet eyes half closed as she sighed, letting her hand drop back to her side. "Wake up soon, please."

He still didn't answer her.

Yawning again, Rukia climbed off of the chair she was sitting on and pulled Ichigo's blanket to the side, sliding into the bed next to him and cuddling to his side. She breathed in deeply of his scent before closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest.

_So tired . . ._

* * *

"What do you think the chances that whatever she's doing in there could be used as blackmail?" Hinamori asked, swinging her feet back and forth on the couch. Hitsugaya, who was sitting next to her, rolled his eyes.

"Why do you care so much?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really like poking into your cousin's personal life?"

"Yes!"

Ever since Hinamori had been spending the week with Rukia, she had become more open and hyper.

_Or_ was that the mass amounts of tea she had consumed that morning?

Either way, her answer was more enthusiatic that he had imagined, and as he dropped his head back and sighed, he wondered what in the world ever made him love this girl so much.

* * *

"Is he awake?"

Rukia, who was awake now, but still hadn't moved from Ichigo's side, snapped her gaze up to meet her brothers, who was standing in the doorway. She quickly sat up, letting the blanket fall from her thin body. Blushing, she shook her head. Byakuya nodded, and the awkward silence that came afterward lasted only until they heard a light moaning coming from the bed beside Rukia.

" 'The hell happened?"

Rukia turned around to see Ichigo rubbing his orange head and trying to sit up in bed. She frowned and shoved him back down gently.

"Stay still, Ichigo. You were hurt."

"I'm fine. I don't know how, though," Ichigo said, frowning and putting his hand to his stomach. However, his eyes went wide when they landed on the scar in his thumb; it was still glowing light red. "Huh? What the-"

"I don't know," Rukia said, holding out her own hand, in which her scar was glowing, too. "It's been doing that since this morning when . . . " she trailed off and clenched her fingers closed. Ichigo frowned and reached his finger up to his face.

"Huh. Why does mine look funny? I clearly remember cutting it so it was only a line."

Rukia reached over and took his hand into hers, her eyes going wide when she saw the pattern. It was different from hers; instead of it being a line with flowers and vine's twisting down it, it was the same line with a phoenix half wrapped around it. The Phoenix's tail was on one side of the pole while it's body was on the other side.

"I didn't see that there yesterday," Rukia said, frowning as she ran her own fingers over the scar.

"I saw it earlier," Byakuya said, walking over. "It must have happened last night or this morning."

"Last night probably," Ichigo said, not realizing that he was speaking in front of Byakuya. "I saw both mine and yours glowing," he pointed out to Rukia, still staring intently at his finger, shaking every now and then, as if this action would make it do something impressive, like dance.

"Last night?" Byakuya said, an edge to his voice as he raised his eyebrows.

If it was possible, Ichigo blushed deeper than the shade of Rukia's red sweater. _Whoops_. Ichigo dropped his head in his hands, sighing. Rule number one of having a girlfriend; don't ever make references to your first time around big, powerful older brothers.

"I heard Renji speaking this morning," Byakuya continued.

Ichigo winced. He then said,

"Um . . Kuchiki-_sama_, could I have a moment with Rukia? Alone? I need to talk to her about something."

Byakuya didn't say anything as he nodded and walked out of the room. Rukia, who was still sitting on the edge of Ichigo's blanket, bit her lip while waiting for Ichigo to start speaking.

He moved his hand to cup her cheek and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth as he murmured,

"Last night . . . it wasn't a mistake . . . Right?"

Rukia leaned forward and captured his lips with hers, gently pushing her tongue inside his mouth and quickly kissing him before pulling back.

"No."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her closer to kiss her again. She sighed into the kiss, but broke it before things could go too far. Her brother was right outside the door, and probably, if she guessed right, her cousin, who was hyper from lots and lots of sugar in her tea that morning.

"Good. And sorry I hurt you last night," he whispered, burying his face in her neck as he pulled her close. Rukia muttered something that he didn't hear. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes as he asked her what she'd said.

She kissed him on the lips and dropped off of the bed, whispering in his ear, "It didn't hurt for long. Besides . . . it felt wonderful."

Ichigo smiled a crooked smile as he watched her walk over to the door, opening it and telling her brother that they were done talking. All traces of the huskiness that had been in her voice were gone. Byakuya walked back in and raised his eyebrow as Rukia climbed back onto the bed beside Ichigo. He sat down on the chair that Rukia had been sitting in hours ago, and faced both Ichigo and Rukia, who were sitting side-by-side on the bed.

"Kurosaki," Byakuya began, getting the teenager's attention. Ichigo turned his gaze on the older man. Byakuya continued, "I know that my sister was with you last night. I know that you love each other, and there might actually be a way you can stay together."

Ichigo's eyes snapped up.

"What?" he asked, trying not to let the hope in his eyes show. Byakuya sighed.

"I have to start at the beginning. Rukia . . . this concerns _you_. Do you want to be alone when I tell you?" he asked, nodding his toward to Ichigo. Rukia shook her head and gripped onto his Ichigo's arm tightly.

"No, I want Ichigo here with me," she said firmly. Byakuya nodded.

"Very well. I'll start with the day I first met her. The day I first met Hisana was when she came to my door, asking for a place to stay. Mother and father were still here, and I was almost sixteen when it happened, and, like you, I was to be married on my sixteenth birthday. I still had a month to choose a partner, and while Hisana was here, we spent a lot of time together, and one day, not quite sure why I had even done it, I asked her to marry me. She said yes and we were married. I broke too many rules to count by marrying her. Then, it was about a month after our marriage that she told me about you."

"Is Rukia your . . ." Ichigo began, but didn't finished his question; Byakuya understood what he was asking.

"No. She is not my daughter."

It finally hit Rukia what Byakuya had said.

"_She_ told . . . wait, I'm your sister!" Rukia said, gripping Ichigo's hand tighter in hers. He looked down at her with sad eyes. He understood what Byakuya was saying, so, instead of letting Rukia respond again, Ichigo said,

"She was adopted."

Byakuya nodded.

"Rukia . . . you were Hisana's sister. When she was fourteen, both her parents died, leaving a newborn baby with her. She took care of you as long as she possibly could, but one day, she couldn't do anything else for you and left you in the middle of a big town, where you were sure to be found and taken care of. She ran away in order to save you."

"I'm . . ." But Rukia couldn't say anything else. Seeing that she was on the verge of tears, Ichigo leaned over and took her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest and clenched her fists tightly, trying to hold in tears. She said, "Mom . . . she wasn't . . . my mother?"

Byakuya looked down sadly. He shook his head.

"Right before Hisana came into my life, mom had found out that she couldn't have anymore children. So, when Hisana asked for me to help find you, mother said that if I did, you would have a life with us."

"When . . . when did you find me?" Rukia asked, her voice still shaking.

"I found you when you were two. By the time I had, Hisana was deathly ill . . ." Byakuya trailed off, still looking down at the ground; it was appearentally still hard for him. "Hisana . . . all she wanted was to see you, and to know you would have the life she had always dreamed of you having before she died. She never got that chance. And . . . when I found you, I found Renji also; he was four, and I set him up with one of the families around here, as my mother didn't want a third child. But we adopted you into our family; by that time, father was dead. But adopting you was against the rules, and it got mother in a lot of trouble. I swore on my father's grave that I would never break the rules again."

"And letting me be with Rukia would be breaking the rules, right?" Ichigo asked, gently running his fingers through Rukia's hair as she continued to shake in his embrace, not quite believing everything that was being said.

"Yes."

"What happened after that?" Ichigo asked quietly.

Byakuya continued,

"After that, mother raised Rukia like the daughter she never had, and we both agreed that we would never tell her. But then, when you were about four, mother fell ill with the same sickness that killed Hisana. When she died, you were too broken that I couldn't bare to do anything but raise you the best I could. You loved mother so much, you followed her everywhere and did everything with her. I never wanted to tell you any of this."

"Thank you, Nii-sama," Rukia said, gently pulling out of Ichigo's embrace. "But it doesn't matter; I will always think of mom as mom, please, let me."

Byakuya nodded.

"Yes, of course. Just because I have told you everything, I do not wish for you to believe that we were not your family."

They were all three silent until Byakuya continued again.

"Rukia . . . there is a way you and Ichigo can be together."

"How?" Rukia asked, her violet eyes meeting her brothers.

"Since you were adopted, you are not related to the noble family by blood. You could marry Ichigo; you would get banished from the throne now or at any future time and you would most likely have to leave this house and live in one of the villages. You'd be breaking about fifty different rules, but if you truly love him like I loved Hisana, you would be willing to do that."

Ichigo didn't speak as he watched the emotions flicker across Rukia's face. She needed to decide this on her own. She needed to know, for herself, that she loved him enough to give away the place and people she had called home for so long.

Slowly, Rukia nodded. She looked up at Ichigo and said,

"I'll do anything."

Ichigo would have kissed her, but that would have been awkward with Byakuya in the room.

"Very well. Now, I must insist that, while you're staying here, Kurosaki, that you and Rukia maintain separate rooms."

They both blushed.

* * *

"Hey, Rukia, can I talk with Yuzu?" Ichigo asked, taking her hand as they walked along. Rukia nodded, then said,

"Yeah. I'd think it best we tell her about, you know, us, too."

Ichigo nodded and Rukia led him to the kitchen. As they walked along, Ichigo began to wonder exactly why Byakuya was letting him stay in the castle anyway; he was a slave. But Byakuya _had_ informed the guards that Ichigo had been removed from active duty due to unforeseeable reasons. Reasons: He's marrying a noble.

But he doubted that Byakuya had included that part, and he had a feeling that Rukia had something to do with his staying in the castle, because, while he had been sleeping, he had been awake enough at one point to hear a slightly heated conversation between her and Byakuya about his sleeping arrangements.

"Hey, Yuzu, someone's here to see you," Rukia said softly, letting go of Ichigo's hand to walk in the kitchen before him. Soon, the little girl bounced up to Ichigo and hugged him, hauling him inside and asking him if he wanted some tea.

"With lots of sugar?" Ichigo asked, still holding her small hand in his.

"Yeah!"

They both giggled, and as Ichigo began dumping many spoonfuls of sugar into his tea, Rukia walked over to Orihime and poked her from behind. The two girls started talking, and when Ichigo heard Rukia say 'Ishida', he told his sister he would be right back, and walked over to them.

"Hey, do you mean Uryuu? Ishida Uryuu?"

Orihime nodded happily, though blushing as she stared at Ichigo's face.

"Yeah, I bring him and the other workers lunch everyday!"

"Ah. So, you must be Orihime. He mentioned you."

Orihime blushed deeper and turned away, nodding her head. Ichigo raised his eyebrows, then turned to Rukia. She shrugged, smiling, as she poked him in the chest.

"Go talk to your sister, she hasn't seen you but a few times in five years."

Ichigo smiled and reached out to grab her hand. He nodded his head toward Yuzu.

"Come with me."

Rukia nodded and allowed herself to be hauled over to where Yuzu was inspecting Ichigo's cup with raised eyebrows.

"How much sugar did you put in there?" Yuzu asked, holding it up under his nose. He shrugged.

"Thirteen spoonfuls. Why?"

Both Rukia and Yuzu gaped at him. He shrugged and began sipping it. He smiled.

"I haven't had tea, or much sugar, for that matter, in months. So . . . I like to have a lot of sugar when I can."

Rukia stick out her tongue at the tea. Ichigo stuck his tongue out at her, and then the tea spilled. However, it did not spread across the floor. It just sat there in a sugary lump. Yuzu and Rukia started laughing, and soon, Ichigo was laughing with them. Even Orihime and Ururu, who were washing dishes on the other side of the room, smiled.

Then, Yuzu noticed that Ichigo was still holding Rukia's hand.

"Brother?" she asked, staring at their entwined fingers. Rukia blushed a little and moved closer to Ichigo, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Yuzu continued, "Did you finally get a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well, you don't have to put it that way," Rukia said, sending Ichigo a mini-glare. He stuck his tongue out at her.

Yuzu laughed and began scraping the sugar . . . tea? . . . off of the floor.

* * *

Again, the thirteen spoonfuls of sugar comes from **Trinity Blood**. And I hope you liked this chapter. I had to calm it down for a bit for Byakuya to tell them about Hisana and how they could be together.

**Please Review!**


	13. In The Moonlight

**P.S. **In my story, since it is supposed to be placed in 1910-1930 or something like that, girls _were _getting married at 15 and 16.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

* * *

_If you slip . . . I'll catch you. And if you fall, I'll help you stand. Trust me. Trust me, and let go . . ._

* * *

**Before The Rain — XIII**

Ichigo stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked out onto the balcony that he had seen Rukia go out onto only minutes before. She turned around when she heard him, smiling and motioning for him to come closer. He felt a smile coming to his own face, too, as he walked up and wrapped his arms around her.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," Rukia said, leaning back into his embrace.

Ichigo breathed in deeply, then let it out. Rukia shivered in his arms as his hot breath made contact with her skin.

"Hey, Rukia . . . are you really willing to give up everything in order to be with me? Just like that, without even thinking about it?"

Rukia turned around in his arms so she was looking directly up at him. Her violet eyes seemed to be glowing in the moonlight, and the shadows cast around their bodies made it seem like they were on fire. She smiled.

"Yes, I would, Ichigo. Without even thinking about it," she said, leaning her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his stomach. He buried his face in her hair and smiled when he smelled it.

"You smell like strawberries," he said, laughing softly.

"Hinamori's shampoo. She let me borrow it," Rukia said, punching him softly in the stomach. He pretended to be hurt, and pouted as he broke the embrace and poked Rukia back. She giggled and reached out, grasping the railing of the balcony in both hands as Ichigo walked over beside her. He said,

"Hey, when are we gonna do this?"

"What?" Rukia asked, turning to look at him.

"Get married," Ichigo said, putting his arm around her waist as they stood there. "I know you probably don't want to marry right away, because we're so young, but I don't want you to still be here when Gin comes in three weeks."

"Hmm . . ." Rukia paused as she stared out at the stars. "Soon. I want to get out of here."

"Mm . . . why?"

"Because I've always hated it here. I mean . . . I love my brother, and I love visiting the kitchen to talk with my friends . . . but every night, I can hear the screams of the slaves from my bedroom window. And now . . . and now, even though I know you're here in the castle with me . . . I can't keep but thinking that it's you being hurt down there. And I . . ."

She was cut off as Ichigo took her into his arms.

"Well I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. But that's just fine with me if you want it to be soon," he said.

"And I don't want many people there. Just my brother and my friends and Yuzu. And whoever you want to invite," she muttered, not moving from Ichigo's embrace as she looked up at him.

"I think that covers it."

"Rukia!"

Ichigo and Rukia both jumped apart as Hinamori's voice joined the conversation. When said cousin saw Ichigo, she blushed, then said,

"Rukia, your brother said it's time for me to haul you upstairs," she said, not coming closer as she watched Ichigo and Rukia smile at each other and roll their eyes.

"OK, coming, coming. Give me a minute," Rukia said, and once Hinamori was gone, she reached up and gave Ichigo a quick kiss, murmuring 'goodnight' in his ear before walking out and following Hinamori up to their room.

Ichigo smiled.

* * *

"What were you two doing when I came in?" Hinamori asked, pulling off her skirt and sweater and replacing them with her pink pajamas as she watched Rukia run a brush through her hair, having already changed into her own nightclothes. Rukia smiled.

"We were discussing when to have the wedding."

Hianmori's eyes lit up.

"You found a way?" she asked, buttoning the buttons on her shirt before bouncing over to Rukia and sitting beside her on the bed. Rukia nodded.

"Yes," Rukia replied, and, before Hinamori could ask how, she answered the question for her. "I have to leave the noble family. And . . ." Rukia bit her lip. Not being related by blood meant that Hinamori wasn't . . . "I-I'm not really related to you guys. I was adopted when I was a baby, which means that we're - "

Hinamori cut her off with a hug.

"I . . . I Don't care. You'll always be my cousin, understand?"

Rukia nodded, then said, "But aren't you . . . surprised to learn that I'm not your relative?"

Hinamori shrugged. "Well, a little I guess. But it just doesn't seem right. To me . . . you were always my cousin and you always will be. I mean . . . it doesn't matter that we're not related by blood, it's the relationships and bonds that count," she said, smiling at Rukia.

Rukia, relieved to hear Hinamori say that, nodded.

"Thanks, Hinamori."

"You're welcome. Anyway, how exactly does this make you able to marry Ichigo?"

"Well . . . " Rukia started, folding her hands in her lap. "Since I'm not directly related by blood, that _is _the reason that I can marry Ichigo. It's a large possibility that I will be banished from the throne, but I don't care."

"Well, if _that's_ the case, even if you were related by blood, how come you couldn't marry Ichigo if the same things would happen . . . and you don't care?"

"Because I would be ruining Nii-sama's chance at the throne, too, if I were related by blood. I would shame the whole family."

"Oh. Well . . . won't that _still_ happen?" Hinamori asked; Rukia sighed.

"No. Nii-sama will tell the other high-up people about me not bring related, and we're hoping that it will all go over well."

"Ah. Well . . . guess what? Me and Shiro-chan finally decided when _we're_ getting married!" Hinamori said happily, standing from Rukia's bed and walking to her own. Rukia climbed under her covers and snuggled deep into her pillow.

"When?" she asked.

"On Christmas; only half a month."

"Is it really the beginning of December?" Rukia asked, smiling to herself. Hinamori nodded, and Rukia sighed. _I've really known him_ _for only twenty-four days. _

_Twenty-four days . . ._

With thoughts of things to come, Rukia rolled over and turned out her light, saying goodnight to Hinamori before turning to look out her window. The sky was clear, and she could see every star out there.

_I love you, mom._

* * *

The next morning, Rukia walked down the stairs only to see Ichigo, wearing a black turtleneck and jeans, sliding across the floor in the castle, the socks on his feet loose and white. She smiled when he looked up at her and waved, making him lose his balance and fall to the ground. Giggling, she walked over to him and offered her hand. Instead of using it to help himself up, Ichigo jumped to his feet and put his arms around Rukia's waist before bringing her with him as he slid across the length of the hall.

She squealed happily as they slid easily across the polished floor and came to a stop right outside of the kitchen door. But instead of going in, Ichigo whispered,

"Again?"

Rukia nodded, her eyes glowing, as she took Ichigo's hand, and, getting a running head-start, slid across the whole floor again. She couldn't, however, stop in time, and Ichigo, who was holding her hand still, fell with her when she sprawled across the floor. They landed in a pile of arms and legs, and before she knew what was happening, Ichigo had begun tickling her.

When he stopped, Rukia sat up, her legs tucked beneath her, and tried to catch her breath.

"You are _way_ to awake in the morning," she said, speaking the first words between them that morning besides Ichigo's simple 'Again?'.

Ichigo shrugged, "What can I say? I got up hours ago, for your information. You sleep forever," he said, poking her in the stomach.

"It's eight in the morning!" Rukia said, disbelief in her eyes. "And you have had _way_ too much sugar this morning, come on, let's go to the kitchen and have some _real_ food."

Ichigo shrugged again, and as they began walking to the kitchen, he wrapped his arms around her again and slid them all the way there. Rukia would have yelled at him if she had any breath left in her, but she didn't, so she settled for kicking him in the shin.

So, he limped into the kitchen, surprised when he saw Byakuya already in there.

"Nii-sama?" Rukia asked, letting go of Ichigo's hand and walking over. Byakuya turned around and looked her up and down, not missing the fact that she was out of breath. Ichigo just simply commented,

"You can slide on these floors _really_ well."

Rukia kicked him again, then replied,

"He's had too much sugar this morning; ignore him."

Ichigo walked over to talk with Yuzu, leaving Rukia with her brother. Byakuya was the first to break the silence.

"Our plans have to be moved forward. Ichimaru Gin is coming ahead of schedule; he'll be here by the end of the week."

Rukia gasped.

"That . . . that _soon_?"

Byakuya nodded.

Rukia continued, "Nii-sama . . . after I leave, will I still be able to see you?"

"Yes, I am sure. But Rukia, I need you to be _really_ sure this is what you want. So far, of what I have witnessed, Kurosaki does love you and will treat you as such, but is this what _you_ really want?" he asked, looking down at his sister, his eyes boring into hers.

"Yes, it is. Besides, even if it wasn't what I wanted, I would still be marrying. If I had my way, I would want to wait a while . . . but we don't have time, I guess. Even so, I'm fine with it."

Rukia smiled when she finished speaking.

"Very well," Byakuya said, turning and leaving the kitchen. Icihgo, who had to stop talking with Yuzu because she had to go do something, walked over to Rukia and leaned over and whispered in her ear,

"Come on. Let's take a walk."

Rukia nodded and followed Ichigo out of the kitchen, out the door, and smiled when she realized where he was leading her. As soon as she stepped a foot inside the beautiful garden where they had shared their first kiss, Ichigo reached out and took her hand in his, holding it tightly as he walked over to the rock that they had placed their handprints on.

The snow had had no effect on it, and it looked the same as ever.

"Hey, Rukia . . . how do _you_ feel about all of this? I know that you're willing to go through with it, but how do you really, truly _feel_ about it?" Ichigo asked, sitting down on the bench; Rukia sat next to him.

She sighed and folded her hands in her lap.

"When I first found out that I was getting married . . . I felt sad, angry . . . anything but happy. I didn't want to have anyone else control my life. I wanted to live by myself, and after Kaien, I didn't want to love again. I wanted to live like normal girls and wait to marry. But you know, Hinamori, my cousin, she's getting married, too, and she's only sixteen. It is not unusual for a woman to marry young. Now . . . I guess I'm kind of looking forward to it. I'm scared, too. I've never thought of being married before. What is it going to be like? I mean . . . and what about a family? Are . . . are you going to want a family?" Rukia asked, turning to look at Ichigo. He reached over and gently placed his hand on hers.

"Maybe later. I mean, if you're uncomfortable thinking about it now, then . . ." he trailed off and shrugged, smiling slightly.

"Thanks," she said, then continued, "I know most girls my age are already thinking of marriage, and some are starting families, but . . . aren't we a little young?"

"Yeah, maybe a little. I'm seventeen and your fifteen . . . but you would have to get married, anyway, even if it weren't to me. And Rukia?"

"Hm?"

"I heard your brother this morning. He said that, basically, we have to speed it up, right?"

Rukia nodded and smirked at Ichigo's choice of words.

"When and where do you want to have the wedding?" Rukia asked, pulling her feet up under her on the bench; the cold was nipping at her bare ankles. Ichigo wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she laid her head on his chest.

"I dunno. Somewhere pretty, I guess. As for when . . . what about next week?"

Rukia nodded.

"I really wanted to wait a while; I mean . . . it's not like I'm uncomfortable around you or anything, but . . . I'm only fifteen. I just . . . I don't know. It just seems so sudden, don't you think?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Yeah. Just a little. But our relationship was sudden, too, wasn't it? We crossed the final line already when we made love, so why should marriage be so hard for us?" Ichigo said, looking up at the sky as he unconsciously rubbed Rukia's cold hands in his to warm them up.

"I don't know," Rukia said. "I guess it shouldn't. It just _sounds_ weird. When I think of people getting married, I think of older people. Not people my age. It's just a little difficult to wrap my mind around. But we can do it; I know we can. Because I love you," she said, looking up into his eyes and kissing him briefly on the lips.

Ichigo smiled and leaned back on the bench, taking off his coat and wrapping it around Rukia's small, shivering body.

"Love ya, too."

She smiled.

* * *

Over thirty minutes later, Ichigo looked down at Rukia. She was warm now, she had said, and had eventually fallen asleep against him. Smiling to himself, he picked her up gently in his arms and stood to his feet, beginning the short walk back to the house.

As he looked up into the sky, he thought on the question Rukia had asked him earlier that he hadn't had an answer to.

How do _you_ feel about our marriage?

He sighed. He really didn't know.

When he had asked her to marry him, he hadn't really known that there would be a way. He just wished and hoped that he would be able to stay with her, but now that it was happening . . . he just didn't know what to think. But he did love her, and he knew that they would both be fine. They would make it through. And one day, they might just start a family. He knew that Rukia was afraid, but the truth was that most girls her age were marrying. Fifteen . . . sixteen-years-old and you usually were at least engaged.

But being engaged yourself seemed . . . different somehow. It seemed scary, impossible, and . . . it made him really think about what he wanted in life. And he knew that he wanted to be with her forever.

Shaking his head, Ichigo pushed open the door, Rukia still in his arms, and walked into the living room, where he laid her down on the couch and gently pulled off her shoes, wet socks and coat.

Ichigo reached out and took her hand as he sat on the floor next to her.

Soon, he felt his own eyes drooping, so he laid his head against the couch and let the darkness take over him.

He would worry tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

But for now . . .

He was with _her_, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Fluff. Fluff. _Fluff?_ Ahh! **Gin** and **Aizen** come into the story in the next chapter, BTW.

**Please Review!**


	14. Inner Power

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing!

* * *

_Our prints in blood, I'll hold your hand. You fell, I smiled, I'll help you stand._

* * *

**Before The Rain — XIV**

Ichigo stood to his feet and walked into the living room whereByakuya had said that he wanted to meet him. He took a deep breath before standing before him. Byakuya motioned for him to sit down. Ichigo did.

"Um . . . why exactly am I here?" Ichigo asked, not so much scared of the older man than he was nervous; Byakuya held a lot of power over both him and Rukia.

"I want to talk to you about my sister."

Ichigo gulped. He said,

"I know I'm a slave, and I'm not . . . I don't deserve her. I don't honsetly think anyone does, but I love her, and that's more than I can say for Ichimaru Gin. I've seen him; he uses women. He uses them and then leaves them, and I will do anything, _anything_, not to see him do that to Rukia." Ichigo paused and let his fists unclench. "Byakuya, by the way, _why_ are you letting me marry your sister? The first impression you gave me was that you hated slaves. So . . . why?"

Byakuya seemed to think for a second, as if carefully choosing his words, then said, "I, too, broke the rules for love. Who am I to say that Rukia can't?"

Ichigo didn't say anything, and let Byakuya continue.

"If she really loves you, and you really love her, I am willing to put aside my feelings for her happiness. She is all I have left in my family. My wife is gone and so are my parents. If I can do anything to make Rukia happy, I will. Even if it means letting her marry a man that is not worthy of her. But . . . of all the men I know, you are the closest of them of earning Rukia's love. And if she wants to give it to you, to give _herself_ to you, then she can. And I won't stop her. But make her happy, or you will be forever in pain and anguish that I will be sure to cause."

* * *

Ichigo pulled at the suit collar. He grimiced as Byakuya slapped his hand away. He then groaned and droped into a chair as Hitsugaya, who was over in the corner, laughed at him. He snapped,

"It'll be your turn in a few weeks."

This shut the white-haired man up, and, satisfied, Ichigo went back to pulling at his collar. He had never worn a suit before, but Byakuya had insisted that Ichigo show up decent at his sisters wedding. And . . . considering that Ichigo was the groom, he enforced it more. But he had, in Ichigo's opinion, tied the tie too tight.

Frowning, Ichigo sulked as they waited.

Women took way to long getting ready. That, and he had the jitters.

Bad.

"Sit _still_," Byakuya growled, his eyes following the pacing Ichigo back and forth on the floor.

As he sat down in the chair again, Ichigo sighed and clapped his hands together, putting them in his lap.

It had been a week since the day that Byakuya had told him and Rukia about Hisana, and since then, nothing too exciting had happened. Ichigo visted Yuzu in the kitchen everyday, Rukia and Ichigo walked in the garden everyday, _someone_ caught them kissing almost everyday, and Byakuya had been pretty neutral about the whole thing

But what surprised Ichigo _most_ was Byakuya's attitude about his marrying Rukia. He had been cool about the whole thing, and didn't threaten Ichigo with his life too many times if he didn't take care of Rukia; only three or four. When Ichigo had asked why he was so cool about the whole thing, he had said simply, that he, too, had broken the rules for love. Who was he to say that Rukia couldn't?

Ichigo smiled as he thought about Rukia. Right now, she was being, in her words, shoved into an oversized dress and having her hair piled on top of her head like an ice cream cone.

The wedding was going to be small. Only a handful of people were going to be there: Rukia and Ichigo, of course, then Byakuya, Hitsugaya, Hinamori, and the local doctor, Unohana, who had been invited by Hinamori; they knew each other from previous visits. Upon Rukia's insistance, Yuzu, Orihime, Ururu and Ishida were to come, and even Renji had been invited, but as of yet, no one knew if he was coming or not. All in all, they were expecting nine guests, but they couldn't afford to have more, as the wedding was to be a secret until afterward, when Ichigo and Rukia would go into hiding for a while; Byakuya would claim that they had eloped.

Ichigo was snapped out of his thoughts when Hitsugaya threw a brush at him.

Growling, Ichigo threw it back. It missed by several feet.

Hitsugaya smirked while Ichigo frowned.

Hitsugaya would have commented, but at that moment, Yuzu bounced through the door, saying,

"Ichi-nii! It's time!"

Byakuya shook his head as he followed Ichigo out. He was going to be giving Rukia away, as he was her brother. And as he looked around, he realized that almost half of the guests were slaves. It was insane, but what else could he expect at his sister's wedding? She had become friends with almost all of the slaves in the castle, and a few that worked in the fields, too. And he couldn't deny his sister if she wanted her friends to be there; he _could_ be annoyed, however. Letting his sister marry a slave was one thing, a _big_ one, so how was letting her invite her slave friends worse?

It wasn't.

Soon, the ceromony had started; since it was such a small wedding, they were holding it inside the castle. Everyone was in one small room, and Rukia was being led in through the entrance doors.

As soon as Ichigo saw her, he was sure he had turned into a gaping fish.

She. Was. _Beautiful_.

Her ankle length dress was a light, cream color and it strapped around only one shoulder. He hugged her small body tightly, showing off all of her curves. Byakuya was holding her hand, and placed it in Ichigo's before stepping back and muttering in his ear,

"If anything happens to her, you die."

Ichigo swallowed and nodded, his eyes straying to meet Rukia's. She blushed sligtly, but he wasn't sure why. The priest started talking, and Ichigo drained most everything he said out until he asked them to recite their vows. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he began.

"Rukia, I've known you for all of a month, but I am hopelessly, truly in love with you. When I first saw your smiling face, I was in a new place that I knew nothing about. I was worried and even slightly nervous, but when I saw you . . . you washed that all away. You showed me that I could believe in hope and that I could believe in you. You helped me stand in a world of darkness and you helped me live. I love you. I know this is fightening to you, to me, too, but I'll always hold you and throughout our lives, I'll never let you go. I'll be with you through sickness and through trials and tribulation."

Rukia smiled and began her vows. They had both requested to say their own.

"When I first met you, I was on my way to my secret place, and when I fell over and you offered your hand, I took it and I felt happiness. I had decided to walk through a place I didn't know well, and I'm glad I did because I met you. You were a constant friend, and when you first kissed me, I felt as if my shattered world was complete. You picked up the pieces and put them in place and you re-shaped my life."

The priest said,

"Do you, Ichigo Kurosaki, take Rukia Kuchiki to be your wife? Do you promise to love, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?"

"I do."

"And do you, Rukia Kuchiki, take Ichigo Kurosaki to be your husband? Do you promise to love, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?"

"I do," she said, smiling as she stared into Ichigo's eyes.

The priest smiled and pronounced them husband and wife, and Ichigo kissed Rukia like she had never felt before. It was short, but a promise of more to come. Then, Rukia turned around and smiled at the small crowd as she threw the boquet of flowers at the group of girls in the middle of the room . . . and the three boys.

Ishida caugh it.

Blushing _deeply_ and pushing his glasses up further on his nose, he turned around and handed the flowers to Orihime, who grabbed them happily and kissed him. His face went redder, if that was even _possible_ and his eyes went wide. Rukia and Ichigo laughed at him as Orihime pulled back, suddenly turning as red as he was. Ichigo turned to Rukia, saying,

"When do you think there'll be another wedding?"

Rukia smiled and playfully jabbed him in the ribs.

Ichigo smiled back, but turned his gaze around when he heard footsteps. Then, he heard a voice that seemed to freeze everything.

"Startin' the wedding without me? Mm. But I'm supposed to be the groom."

Ichigo turned around as fast as he could, and he gasped when he saw the smiling face of Ichimaru Gin, who had his hands clasped behind his back. Everyone fell silent as they stared at the uninvited guest. Even Byakuya was silent. Rukia gasped, and put her hand over her mouth as she hid behind Ichigo, who had a determined look on his face as he glared at Gin and said,

"You weren't invited."

"Should I need an invitation? Rukia belongs to me."

"Rukia doesn't belong to _anyone_," Ichigo growled, stepping closer to Gin, who just continued smiling. Hitsugaya turned to everyone and said something under his breath to the girls and women behind him, and soon, Yuzu, Ururu, Orihime and Hinamori were being led out of the room by Ishida; he didn't want them there in case trouble appeared.

The only people left were Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya and Hitsugaya as Gin began to advance on them.

"Don't you dare touch her," Ichigo said, frowning as Gin kept coming closer and closer.

Then, a sixth person entered the room.

Sosuke Aizen.

Ichigo turned around and grabbed Hitsugaya by the collar, muttering in his ear,

"Take Rukia out of here and make sure she's safe until we take care of this."

Hitsugaya nodded, and pulled a reluctant Rukia from the room, leaving only Ichigo and Byakuya with Aizen and Gin. No one moved until Aizen spoke.

"Rukia was to be married to Gin. What is going on here?"

Ichigo stared Aizen right in the eye, suddenly not caring that the older man held a hell of a lot more power over him and could have him killed in an instant. All that mattered to him right now was Rukia, and that she was safe.

"Rukia is _not_ marrying Gin. Not over my dead body," Ichigo growled, stepping closer to Aizen. Byakuya stood back and watched; he would jump in if he needed to.

"We can have that arranged," Aizen said calmly. "But Rukia comes with us. It is a good thing we came today. I'm guessing that, in marrying Rukia, you think that you can _save_ her from an arranged marriage, am I right, you filthy _slave_? And _you_, Kuchiki-sama, probably think that since Rukia is not related to you by blood, yes, I do know, that she can get away with this, don't you?"

Byakuya didn't answer, but Ichigo said,

"I am _not_ just a slave. I'm just like every one of you. Rukia taught me that. She taught me that even the people you call slaves are human. We're people just like you who are being worked nearly to death. And it was people like you . . . _no_, it _was_ you who killed my father. You worked him to death and beat him each day until he could barely walk. I was _nine_ when it happened, and dammit, you did it in front of me until I was moved! And it was people like you who thought that, just because you held a small amount of power over people like me, that you could kill my mom. If anyone here is filthy, it's _you_, you bastard!" Ichigo growled, his fists clenching tightly as he lunged one of them out and caught Aizen right in the face.

Aizen smirked as he stared at the enraged Ichigo. He reached a hand up to his face only to take it away and see blood.

Before he could see what had happened, Ichigo gasped in pain as he felt a knife enter his abdomen. As quickly as it had entered, it was taken out and Ichigo slumped to the floor, his warm, red blood spreading out beneath him. Byakuya took a step forward, his own knife drawn, when he felt something cold pressed to his neck. He looked up to see Aizen, blood still running from his temple, holding a knife to Byakuya's throat.

"Ah ah. Don't move."

Byakuya stiffened as he watched Ichigo's blood spreading out all across the floor, mixing with the few flower pettels that had fallen from the flowers when Rukia had thrown them.

Gin just looked down at Ichigo, smiling, as he took a step away to avoid the spreading blood.

Then, Byakuya watched as Gin's eyes widened the smallest bit as a bright, blinding red glow began to surround Ichigo. It expanded a few feet and glowed brighter than ever.

Aizen removed his hand from Byakuya's throat to shield his eyes from the light, and Byakuya took his chance to pull out his own knife, the thing he had closest, and aim for Aizen.

Everything happened in seconds. The red glow receded, and Ichigo slowly climbed to his feet. Gin took a step back, his confident smile wavering as Ichigo stepped toward him, his eyes glowing once again. But this time, instead of only his eyes glowing, in his hands, Ichigo held a sword that seemed to be made completely of air. It was shaped perfectly, and as Ichigo swung it around, it left behind small waves of red light.

"Die, filthy human!"

His voice was deep, scratchy, and even more distorated than the last time.

And as he began to charge upon Gin, he let out a shattering scream that made everyone in the room cover their ears.

But before his sword could pierce the heart of Gin, it clashed into a second sword that stopped it three inches from it's victim.

"Am I too late?"

The voice belonged to Renji, and as he used the sword he was holding to knock Ichigo's out of the way, he pushed Ichigo to the ground and put his foot on his throat to hold him down.

"Did I miss the wedding?" Renji paused and scratched his head. "Because for the past few days I've been mentally beating myself up over everything I've done. I guess . . . if Rukia wants to marry this boy in order to be happy . . . I'm OK with it. I'll heal over time." He paused again. "And . . . Kurosaki, get a grip, will ya? That's not freakin' you in there, so would you please pull your ass out of there and take care of my girl for me?"

The light in Ichigo's eyes dulled, and, satisfied once the blade had dissapeared, Renji took his foot from Ichigo's throat, but didn't move his sword from Gin's body. Renji glanced over at Byakuya, who had turned to tables on Aizen and was holding him on the ground, _his_ knife to Aizen's throat, and said,

"Where'd everyone go to?"

Byakuya grunted.

"Safety. Tie him up," he said, throwing a coil of wire at Renji.

"Uh . . . where did you get _this_?" he asked, shrugging as he forced Gin on the ground with Ichigo's dazed help and began to tie him up.

Byakuya didn't answer as he hauled the now-tied-up Aizen to his feet and pulled him along to where Ichigo, Renji and Gin were standing.

"Party's over, man! Time to go home," Renji said, giving Gin a swift kick in the butt to get him moving.

And, this time, Gin wasn't smiling.

* * *

When they came into the living room, where everyone was waiting for them, Rukia gasped and jumped to her feet, running over to Ichigo, who was being helped along by Renji and was still covered in blood.

"What happened, Ichigo?" she asked frantically, grunting under his weight as Renji switched him over to her shoulders. Ichigo yawned tiredly and sat down on the floor with Rukia's help.

"Don't worry, I healed myself."

She frowned as she inspected the spot in which he had healed. The skin was smooth and perfectly fine, and as she sat down beside him, she asked quietly,

"Did that . . . did _that. . ._ happen again?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Yea. Sorry 'bout that. Guess I can't heal myself without that happening."

"Well, from now on, then, let _me_ heal you, you stubborn idiot."

Ichigo smiled.

"Whatever."

Rukia punched him on the arm, and the mood in the room suddenly lightened as everyone saw that he was fine. Hitsugaya asked,

"What happened in there?"

Ichigo said, "Lots. But they won't be bothering us again, hopefully. We sent them, tied up, back to their castle in a land far, far away with one of the guards driving them. We're not pressing charges."

With the last sentence, Ichigo shot Byakuya a half-glare and slumped his head against Rukia as he breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight as his breathing began to slow in semi-sleep.

Hinamori piped up, "Well, I should hope my wedding isn't so full of drama."

Everyone laughed. Well, amost everyone, minus those who were incapible of laughing; Ishida and Byakuaya, and those sleeping; Ichigo and Yuzu, the latter of whom had passed out on the couch from exhaustion while trying to stay awake, worried about Ichigo.

Rukia then turned her gaze to Renji, and said softly,

"You came?"

Renji was about to say something when Ichigo said sleepily,

"Yup. And I've gotta take care of his girl for him."

Renji blushed as Rukia raised her eyebrows and laughed. Even Ichigo, who was nearly asleep, smiled and muttered,

"He's a drama queen."

Even Byakuya looked amused.

* * *

Nope! **NOT **the end! I have an epilogue to go! It's gonna be shorter, but hey, aren't most epilogues? I thinkith so. And did I do Gin and Aizen even **CLOSE **to right?

**Please Review!**


	15. Child Of Snow — Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to **CrystalRaindrop007 **for Beta'ing! **Yukiko** is pronounced: You-Kee-ko

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_A child born of love. A Child born in the snow._

* * *

**Before The Rain — Epilogue**

Ichigo smiled as he looked out the window and watched the snow fall slowly to the ground. It caught on the window and melted, the tiny, crystal-like droplets racing to the bottom in a race that none of them won.

It had been eleven months. Eleven months since he had married Rukia and they had moved out into the village. Sure, she missed her friends and family, but they were doing fine and he had a steady job to support them. It was actually easy after what he had been going through every day.

Sighing happily, Ichigo turned from the window and watched Rukia as she slept. She was curled into a small ball on their bed and covered with the large quilt, her black hair pooling out beneath her face. He watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath, and his smile widened.

Meeting her was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She had saved him in more than one way; she had saved him from himself and she had saved him from a life of slavery. She had given him a life to look forward to, and he wasn't going to waste it.

Turning his gaze back to the window, Ichigo let his thoughts wander to his sister. She was still at the castle, working for Byakuya, and she said that she was treated nicely, as were her friends. And he had had news from Yuzu that Orihime and Ishida were offically _together_. Though how far could you trust the secertive whisper of an eleven-year-old?

But he knew for a fact that Hinamori and Hitsugaya were married; he had been at their wedding. And as of three months ago, they were expecting their first child. Ichigo had commented that he hoped the baby wasn't as short as Hitsugaya, and Rukia had kicked him. She had a soft spot for short people, as she wasn't exactly tall herself.

"Shorty," he whispered, the _compliment_ amied at the peacefully sleeping woman -girl?- in the bed.

And, as if Rukia had heard him, she moved around in the bed and snuggled deeper into the quilt, trying to protect her body from the cold draft coming in through the window.

Ichigo closed said window and walked over, sitting beside her on the bed and reaching out to play with the tiny hand of the newborn baby laying in between them.

Yukiko Hisana had been born two and a half months ago, weighing seven pounds and five ounces. She looked exactly like Rukia; the small, soft baby hair on her head was completely black and her eyes were bright violet. She was a rather small baby, but, according to Unohana, had not been born early. She was fully developed, so Rukia had been pregnant with her for nine months.

She had been concieved the first time that Ichigo and Rukia had ever made love. Rukia called her a snow child, as she had been concieved while it was snowing outside, and had been born in the same conditions on September 19th. It had been raining earlier that day, but as Rukia went into labor and Ichigo rushed her to Unohana, the rain suddenly turned to snow. It hadn't snowed for a month and a half after that, and no one was quite sure what had caused the snow, as it was quite out of season.

They had named her Yukiko because it meant Snow Child, or Child of Snow

But as the tiny baby moved around in her sleep, Ichigo smiled and brushed her soft hair back on her head, reaching down and pulling the footies on her fuzzy over her tiny, pink feet. She stuck her tongue out in her sleep for a second, then opened her bright violet eyes, staring at Ichigo as she kicked her feet back and forth sleepily. He grinned as he picked her up, but it was soon appearent that she was hungry; something he couldn't help with.

Ichigo reached over and gently shook Rukia's small body.

"Yukiko's hungry, Rukia," he said gently, smiling softly at her as she looked up at him blurrily. She nodded and reached out, taking the small baby from Ichigo and pulling up the shirt of her two-piece pajamas. Ichigo moved behind her as she fed Yukiko, and let her lean against him. Her head slumped on his chest and she let her free hand search out his on the bed. He kissed her hair before reaching out his hand to rub his fingers across Yukiko's tiny back.

"She's so small," Rukia said slowly, watching as Yukiko curled and uncurled her fingers happily as she ate.

"Yeah. She takes after you."

Rukia would have kicked him if she were in any position to do so

"But she's our snow baby, and I don't care how small she is as long as she's healthy and happy," he said, his voice muffled in her hair. "She's our baby snow girl."

Rukia smiled.

As he watched the two most important girls in his life, Ichigo felt his heart swell with happiness. A year ago, he would never have imagined this happening. It was just by chance that he had met Rukia . . . and it was just by chance that they were able to get married, and it was just by chance that Yukiko had been concieved the very first time that they had made love.

But he would do anything in the world for these two, and he would give the world to them if they asked.

And in the future, when Yukiko would begin to walk, he would be beside her to help he stand as she fell. Just like he had been for Rukia.

"Our snow baby," Ichigo said once again, letting a simple tear fall from his eye as he watched Yukiko; he loved her _so_ much.

And before the rain there is always darkness, but the rain can turn to snow, and the snow is the most beautiful thing in the world.

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**THE END!**

I'm _actually _happy with how this turned out. Besides the 'My Gosh, it's soo short' thing, that is. :D Hope you enjoyed this whole story and I hope you'll continue to enjoy my stories as I write them!

_**—P.S. If you liked this story, go vote for it in the poll on my profile page!—**_

**_Please Review!_**


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